The best small city in the US is in Washington, new report finds. Here’s why
Washington is home to the top ranked small city in the nation, a new report finds.
Sammamish landed the No. 1 spot on Wallethub’s list of best small cities. The rankings were based on five categories: affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life and safety, according to results released Tuesday by the personal finance website.
The city of about 66,000 is located 21 miles east of Seattle.
Another Washington city also made the cut. Redmond — a 6 mile drive north of Sammamish — ranked No. 12.
To calculate the rankings, experts selected cities with population sizes between 25,000 and 100,000 and discounted cities surrounding a metro area.
Then researchers evaluated each category using 43 “relevant metrics.” They graded every metric on a 100-point scale drawing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, County Health Rankings, Trip Advisor, Yelp and Trans Union, among others.
Sammamish had an overall score of 72.55 and got high marks in economic health, safety and education and health.
The best rated city is nestled along Lake Sammamish, a popular spot for lounging on the beach, swimming, boating fishing and hiking. And the area is also known for its schools and golf courses.
Redmond, a city of more than 65,000, had a total score of 70.12 with strong showings in economic health and education and health. The seventh largest city in King County is known for its “small town charm” and has more than 30 public parks.
The lowest ranking small city is Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 1:04 PM with the headline "The best small city in the US is in Washington, new report finds. Here’s why."
