Framingham Ranked Among Top Small Cities In U.S., List Says

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham scored well in a new ranking of small cities and towns across the U.S., according to the personal finance website Wallethub.

The study rated towns and cities in five categories: affordability, the local economy, education and health, quality of life and safety. The study took into account factors like the median local income, crime rates and nearby amenities like museums and parks.

Framingham scored high marks for having a strong local economy and strong education and health ratings — in fact, Framingham was in the top 30 in the nation for those last two factors. The city lost points for a high cost of living and possible quality-of-life issues like long commute times and cultural amenities (the study did not specify which factors caused a community to lose points).

Framingham's overall score was 64.07. The top city on the list — Sammamish, Wash., a suburb of Seattle — had a total score of 72.55. The lowest ranking community on the list with a score of 35.92 was Pine Bluff, Ark.

Like this article? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered every weekday. It's free!

Framingham ranked better than larger and richer communities like Santa Barbara, Calif., and West Hartford, Conn. In Massachusetts, the study ranked Framingham ahead of Marlborough, Gloucester and Peabody. Lexington was the top-ranked Massachusetts town on the list followed closely by Reading, Milton and Melrose. The study only considered communities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000.

Here's where Framingham ranked in individual categories among the more than 1,300 cities and towns on the list:

• Affordability — No. 927
• Economic health — No. 87
• Education and health — No. 29
• Quality of life — No. 771
• Safety — No. 350

You can read the full report here on the Wallethub website.