Photo Via City of Queen Creek
By SmartAsset | AzBigMedia
In a new study, SmartAsset set out to uncover the most livable small cities in the U.S. To do so, we analyzed data for 275 cities with populations between 65,000 and 100,000 people. Our findings show Queen Creek ranked among the 10 most livable small cities in America.
For some, the hustle and bustle of big-city living can be overwhelming, but the slow pace of life in a rural small town may not provide enough excitement. Luckily, America is dotted with small cities – places with populations between 65,000 and 100,000 people – that provide the best of both worlds. These cities often have many of the same amenities found in large metropolises but offer a lower cost of living.
To see which small cities are most livable, SmartAsset analyzed data for 275 small cities. We compared these cities across various metrics related to dining and entertainment, healthcare, employment and poverty, healthcare, and average commute times.
Key Findings
• Small cities in Washington and Michigan dominate the top 10. Half of the 10 most livable small cities are located in either Washington or Michigan, including the top two: Redmond and Sammamish, WA. Novi, MI places third, while Kirkland, WA and Farmington Hills, MI also make the grade.
• Seven of the 10 highest unemployment rates are in California cities. Tulare and Merced have 9.7% unemployment as of April 2023. Madera, Turlock, Manteca, Lodi, and Traci also place among the top ten highest unemployment rates, at 5.8% or higher. Meanwhile, Detroit and D.C. areas offer particularly low unemployment rates.
• Residents in these Midwestern cities save 6 percentage points more of their income thanks to low housing costs. These cities require less than 17% of the local median income to maintain housing: Lakeville and Maple Grove, MN; Livonia, Novi and Farmington Hills, MI; and Shawnee, KS. Meanwhile, the average housing costs across all small cities takes up 22.87% of local median incomes.
• D.C. and LA suburbs have some of the worst commute times. While the longest average commute is 43.6 minutes in Poinciana, FL, residents of Apple Valley, Lake Elsinore, and Chino, CA also frequent the top 10. Similarly, Waldorf, MD and Dale City, VA, place 5th and 9th.
• No Southern city cracks the top 10. Alpharetta, Georgia, is the most livable small city in the South at No. 13. This Atlanta suburb ranks highest among all southern cities. Only one other city in the region – Johns Creek, Georgia – ranks in the top 30 most livable small cities.
Tied for 10th- Queen Creek, AZ (& Troy, MI)
Queen Creek, a city of nearly 70,000 people southeast of Phoenix, has the fourth-lowest poverty rate across our study (2.7%). Queen Creek also ranks 16th for healthcare establishments and 20th for entertainment establishments. People who call Queen Creek home have easy access to the San Tan Mountain Regional Park, which features miles of hiking and biking trails across thousands of acres of Sonoran desert.
