Best Small Cities In United States 2019: Silver Spring Makes List

SILVER SPRING, MD — Silver Spring may not be the biggest in the state, but it was recently recognized as one of the best small urban areas in America.

Personal finance site WalletHub released its 2019 Best Small Cities in America, which evaluates metro areas with populations between 25,000 and 100,000. The list compared more than 1,200 cities across the nation based on 42 key indicators such as: home ownership rates; school-system quality; the number of performing arts centers in the area; and job growth.

Each relevant metric was listed with its corresponding weight; and the cities were subsequently graded on a 100-point scale. A score of 100 represents the best small city experience.

Silver Spring finished in the 46th percentile with a total score of 57.96.

• Affordability: 1084
• Economic Health: 519
• Education & Health: 129
• Quality of Life: 222
• Safety: 29

Leawood, Kansas, ranked as the best small city in the nation, according to WalletHub, followed by Brentwood, Tennessee, and Sammamish, Washington.

Bessemer, Alabama, finished as the worst small city in the United States.

Patch editor Gus Saltonstall contributed to this article.