Hudson Valley Towns Rank High In 2026 'Best Small Cities In America' Report

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — For those of us who live in the Hudson Valley, there are plenty of reasons to have hometown pride, but now we have proof that some of the best small cities in the country are right here.

Almost a dozen small cities in the Hudson Valley are considered some of the Best Small Cities in America, according to a new study by WalletHub.

In order to help people choose the perfect small city to put down roots, researchers at the personal finance website crunched the numbers and compared more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 45 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs to school system quality to the crime rate and the number of restaurants per capita.

Given the large sample of cities ranked in the study, WalletHub grouped the results by percentile. The 99th percentile represents the top percent of small cities in America.

11 Hudson Valley cities made the list, with 7 ranking in the 50th percentile or higher.

White Plains ranked as the best small city in the Hudson Valley, according to WalletHub. It landed in the 84th percentile, ranked 200th for safety, 80th for education and health, 245th for quality of life rank, 256th for economic health rank, and 1087th for affordability.

Lexington, Massachusetts ranked as the best small city in the country, according to WalletHub, followed by Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Carmel, Indiana.

West Memphis, Arkansas ranked as the worst small city in the nation, scoring in the 1st percentile.

"Moving from a bustling metropolis to a small city could drastically cut down your cost of living. On top of that, the best small cities offer strong job markets, high-quality education, good health care, safe living conditions and plenty of local flair to help you achieve a high quality of life," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. "While small cities may lack some advantages of big cities, like robust public transportation systems, they make up for these shortcomings in other areas."

These are the Hudson Valley cities on the list along with their percentiles:

• White Plains (84th percentile)
• New Rochelle (77th percentile)
• New City (73rd percentile)
• Poughkeepsie (64th percentile)
• Ossining (63rd percentile)
• Harrison (54th percentile)
• Mount Vernon (50th percentile)
• Middletown (48th percentile)
• Port Chester (35th percentile)
• Newburgh (22nd percentile)
• Spring Valley (7th percentile)

Read the full report here.