Small towns are the center and soul of our nation — and because the cost of living continues to skyrocket in giant city areas, extra persons are transferring to less-populated communities. And whereas there are millions of small cities to contemplate, relating to a high quality public schooling system and a wholesome lifestyle, Lexington, Massachusetts, leads the best way.
This charming suburb, situated about 13 miles northwest of Boston, shouldn’t be solely one of many greatest places to live in the Bay State, but it surely’s one of many nicest within the U.S. According to WalletHub’s annual rankings of the best small cities (which concerned evaluating 1,300 locations for affordability, financial well being, high quality of life, security, in addition to schooling and well being), Lexington is the third greatest small city in America, simply after Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Carmel, Indiana.
However relating to schooling particularly, the web site ranked Lexington as the primary within the nation. “Lexington advantages from being in Massachusetts, the state with the very best college programs within the nation,” WalletHub reported. According to Niche, a evaluate website for faculties, Lexington has the fourth-best college district within the state — a mean of 97 % of scholars graduate.
The city additionally ranked first in well being. It has the second-highest share of individuals with medical health insurance within the nation and likewise has the Twenty second-most health facilities per capita.
Moreover, WalletHub’s report highlighted how secure Lexington is. It has the fourth-lowest property crime price and Thirty seventh-lowest violent crime price amongst small cities. Automotive crash deaths and drunk driving fatalities are additionally across the lowest within the nation.
According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the city is dwelling to somewhat beneath 35,000 individuals, has a median age of 47, and has one of many highest median annual family incomes (clocking in at $206,323) in not solely the state however the nation. Simply 4.2 % of Lexington residents are experiencing poverty.
“Residents even have the Tenth-highest median credit score rating, at 783, exhibiting that folks within the metropolis are doing very nicely financially,” WalletHub reported.
Nevertheless, the mixture of low crime charges, wonderful public faculties, and proximity to Boston has resulted in Lexington changing into one among Massachusetts’s most costly ZIP codes. In keeping with a latest evaluation by the Boston Business Journal, Lexington is the 18th wealthiest ZIP code within the state, and Zillow reports the median dwelling worth as somewhat over $1.5 million. Consequently, WalletHub ranked it at 518th for affordability.
However, if Lexington is not fairly what you are in search of, and you are still hoping to settle someplace in Massachusetts — WalletHub ranks it the best state to reside in due to its extremely regarded schooling system and well being care infrastructure — contemplate different Bay State small cities on the listing together with Milton, Arlington, and Newton.