Community Corner
Best Small Cities In U.S. 2019: 33 Minnesota Towns Make List
A new study from WalletHub confirmed what we already knew: Our state has some of the best small cities in the nation.
MINNESOTA — Minnesota might be best known for the Twin Cities metro area, but we’ve also got our fair share of fantastic smaller urban areas. Personal finance site WalletHub released its 2019 Best Small Cities in America, which only included metros with populations between 25,000 and 100,000.
Our state had 33 small cities make the overall rankings:
- Savage, MN
- Eden Prairie, MN
- Minnetonka, MN
- Lakeville, MN
- Woodbury, MN
- Plymouth, MN
- Cottage Grove, MN
- Edina, MN
- Maple Grove, MN
- Moorhead, MN
- Eagan, MN
- Shakopee, MN
- Apple Valley, MN
- Inver Grove Heights, MN
- Blaine, MN
- Owatonna, MN
- Oakdale, MN
- Richfield, MN
- Burnsville, MN
- Winona, MN
- Bloomington, MN
- St. Louis Park, MN
- Coon Rapids, MN
- Andover, MN
- Duluth, MN
- Brooklyn Park, MN
- Shoreview, MN
- Mankato, MN
- Maplewood, MN
- St. Cloud, MN
- Roseville, MN
- Fridley, MN
- Brooklyn Center, MN
The list compared more than 1,200 cities across the nation based on 42 key indicators of liveability, including home ownership rate, the number of performing arts centers in the area, job growth and more.
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Each relevant metric was listed with its corresponding weight and the cities were subsequently graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the maximum small city experience.
Leawood, Kansas ranked as the best small city in the nation, according to WalletHub, followed by Brentwood, Tennessee and Sammamish, Washington.
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Bessemer, Alabama finished as the worst small city in the United States.
“Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes, to name just a few advantages,” authors of the WalletHub study said.
Here are the top 10 overall small cities in the country:
- Leawood, Kansas: 71.98
- Brentwood, Tennessee: 71.53
- Sammamish, Washington: 71.34
- Melrose, Massachusetts: 70.7
- Carmel, Indiana: 70.59
- Lexington, Massachusetts: 70.55
- Milton, Massachusetts: 70.46
- Brookfield, Wisconsin: 70.38
- Fair Lawn, New Jersey: 70.25
- Cedar Park, Texas: 69.98
Patch editor Gus Saltonstall contributed to this article.
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