Money's list of America's best small towns


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75. Saratoga Springs, NY
Saratoga Springs
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WINNER
Top 100 rank: 75
Population: 27,800
Compare Saratoga Springs to Top 10 Best Places
At least 20 springs--some which were once believed to have healing powers--can be found throughout the town, all available for public consumption. But if the water is what lures people to Saratoga Springs, the other amenities are what keep them here. A lively, walkable downtown includes many shops, restaurants, and nightlife. Low crime and a solid school system are pluses. And culture? Tons. Skidmore College is here, as is the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The latter has featured performances as varied as the NYC Ballet, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Lil Wayne, and Blink 182. --N.D.
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Is Saratoga Springs a great town, or what?
Saratoga Springs stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)
$80,557 $99,975
Job growth %
(2000-2010)*
6.03% 24.63%
See jobs near Saratoga Springs
Median home price $290,000 $265,929
See Saratoga Springs homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)
55.7% 25.1%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)
41.2% 24.7%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 21 16
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)
612 2,758
High temp in July ° F 83.0° 84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F 11.6° 20.9°
Median age 39.9 36.35
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)
$80,557 $99,975
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)
$74,590 $95,706
State sales tax 4.00% 5.75%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)
8.97%I 7.37%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)
4.00%I 3.13%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)
$2,679 $1,687
Job growth %
(2000-2010)*
6.03% 24.63%
See jobs near Saratoga Springs
Housing
Median home price $290,000 $265,929
Average property taxes
(2010)
$3,606 $4,083
See Saratoga Springs homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)
12 28
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)
55.7% 25.1%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)
41.2% 24.7%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)
89.6/10.4 92.1/7.9
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)
93.0% 78.5%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 21 16
Median commute time (in minutes) 17.5 23.3
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer
14.0% 15.4%
% population walk or bike to work 9.2% 2.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)
4 30
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)
612 2,758
Bars
(within 15 miles)
71 208
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)
104 165
Libraries
(within 15 miles)
24 74
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)
5 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 60 16
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 2.7 1.2
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)
43.31 39.07
% clear days in the area 19 27
High temp in July ° F 83.0° 84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F 11.6° 20.9°
Median age 39.9 36.35
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)
68.1% 74.5%
Married % 46.6% 61.5%
Divorced % 8.3% 7.6%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)
58.1 71.0
From the September 2011 issue
Notes: *County data

(I) Income tax notes:
The tax brackets reported are for single individuals. For married taxpayers filing jointly, the same tax rates apply to income brackets ranging from $16,000 to $500,000.
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We asked readers to share their favorite hometown dishes. Now it’s time for you to choose: The most popular dish will be named Fan Favorite!

Hometown dish Town
1. Low Cal Tex Mex Seguin, TX
2. Chile Relleno Seguin, TX
3. Super Bowl Breakfast Jamestown, CA,
4. Texas BBQ Luling, TX
5. Shrimp 'n Grits to die for! Raleigh, NC

Money picked the top 100. Now it's your turn: Which town will be our fan favorite? 'Like' your town and it might just make it to No. 1.

Town # of Likes
1. Saratoga Springs, NY 407
2. Glen Ellyn, IL 202
3. Castle Rock, CO 199
4. Mason, OH 181
5. Oswego, IL 172
Find Your Best Places
Region
Northeast South
Midwest West
Ranking
Top 100 winners only
Population
8.4M
8,500
Home Prices
2010 median sales prices
$2.3M
$42K
Using statistics from data services company Onboard Informatics, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families. (Last year, we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.) More

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