America's small towns offer greater affordability than big cities, with lower crime rates, and community connectedness. A new ranking shows the most affordable and most livable small towns for buyers.
In 2017, small town populations started rising for the first time in the decade, per the latest Census data. For Realtor.com's third-annual ranking, researchers analyzed more than 500 U.S. micropolitan areas, or the core community plus outlying areas with total populations ranging between 10,000 and 50,000 people, using criteria including: crime rates, unemployment rates, median list prices on realtor.com, home afforadability, one-of-a-kind festivals, historical locations and mom-and-pop retail outlets, foodie destinations, and more.
“Moving to a small town lets people afford a quality of life that is really appealing and lets them feel like a part of community ... in a way that so many young people are looking for today,” says Winona Dimeo-Ediger, editor of Livability.com. "Millennials, in particular, are very focused on affordability," she says. "By moving to a small town, their basic cost of living is low enough to travel and go to restaurants." Imagine!
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