For at least part of the covid pandemic, people have moved out of urban areas in favor of suburban and rural areas.
A total of 46% of Americans would prefer to live in the suburbs, 35% in rural communities and 19% in urban areas, according to a Pew Research Center survey from October 2021.
This dynamic led personal-finance website WalletHub to determine which are the best small cities. It compared more than 1,300 cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 43 key indicators of livability.
Those indicators include median income, cost of living, school-system quality, average commute time, restaurants per capita and crime rates.
Best & Worst
The best cities in order of their scores on the livability indicators are:
1. Lancaster, Pa.
2. Carmel, Ind.
3. Fair Lawn, N.J.
4. Lexington, Mass.
5. Brentwood, Tenn.
6. Melrose, Mass.
7. Zionsville, Ind.
8. Needham, Mass.
9. Portland, Maine
10. Westfield, Ind.
The bottom 10 starting with the worst are:
1. Bessemer, Ala.
2. Pine Bluff, Ark.
3. Fort Hood, Texas
4. West Memphis, Ark.
5. Alexandria, La.
6. Monroe, La.
7. Isla Vista, Calif.
8. Greenville, Miss.
9. East Point, Ga.
10. Albany, Ga.
Most Important Financial Factors
When it comes to the most important financial factors to consider when deciding where to live, it’s the ratio of salary-to-cost of living (especially the cost of housing), Sonia Hirt, professor of landscape architecture and planning at the University of Georgia, said in a commentary that’s part of the report.
As for the benefits and drawbacks of living in a small city versus a large city, Protip Biswas, a lecturer at Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of City & Regional Planning, said:
“Benefits (mostly perceived) of a small city:
· A feeling of knowing the opportunities and facilities available.
· Fewer crowds, less traffic, and less pollution.
· More likely to know more people and feel a sense of belonging.
“Drawbacks:
· Lack of diversity.
· Lack of variety of facilities, and choices (of retail, institutions).
· Fewer job opportunities or diversity of opportunities.”
Bill Payments Are Going Higher
Meanwhile, with consumer prices skyrocketing 8.3% in the 12 months through August, the prices you pay for your bills are likely going higher.
Doxo, a bill-payment-management service, fleshed out statistics for bill payment across the country. It looked at the 50 biggest cities by number of households.
And it tallied bills for the 10 most common categories, including mortgage payments, rent, auto loans and utilities.
The average combined monthly cost for U.S. household bills in these categories is $2,003 a month, or $24,036 a year.
The biggest monthly bill totals among the 50 cities are:
1. San Jose: $3,248
2. New York: $3,059
3. Boston: $2,963
4. San Francisco: $2,946
5. San Diego: $2,689
6. Washington: $2,686
7. Los Angeles: $2,672
8. Seattle: $2,572
9. Miami: $2,482
10. Austin: $2,447
