America’s worst small towns revealed – and it’s bad news for California
The worst small town in America has been revealed, with California cities consistently ranking at the bottom.
A recent WalletHub analysis ranked more than 1,300 small towns with between 25,000 and 100,000 residents in the United States – and found Isla Vista, California, just north of Santa Barbara, to be the worst.
It had one of the worst scores for affordability and economic health, with a high percentage of the population living in poverty, and it has one of the lowest homeownership rates.
Other California cities also fared poorly in the study, which included 45 different measures, from housing costs to job growth, education and even the number of restaurants per capita.
Wasco, northeast of Bakersfield, with a population of about 25,000, ranked third worst on the list. It scores only slightly better than Isla Vista in affordability, but worse in categories such as safety and quality of life.
Isla Vista, California, just north of Santa Barbara, was ranked the worst small town in America
Looking at individual statistics, Bell Gardens, West Hollywood and Isla Vista had the lowest affordability scores of the cities analyzed.
Maywood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Huntington Park also ranked in the bottom 10, making several cities in densely populated Los Angeles County among the worst performers.
That said, here are the cities that scored the best:
Isla Vista had one of the worst affordability and economic health scores, with a high percentage of the population in poverty, and has one of the lowest homeownership rates
1. Carmel, Indiana
Carmel, Indiana was rated the best small city to live in, with one of the lowest unemployment rates at just 3 percent.
It also has the 33rd lowest rental costs as a percentage of median household income, at about 14 percent, and the median annual household income is nearly $133,000 – the 110th highest among more than 1,300 cities.
Carmel also has a low unemployment rate and high incomes, with the fourth lowest percentage of adults in fair or poor health.
It has the 23rd lowest premature death rate in the country, the fourth lowest pedestrian death rate and the 75th lowest violent crime rate.
2. Brookfield, Wisconsin
Brookfield, Wisconsin was ranked as the second best small city to live in with a 3 percent unemployment rate and the 96th highest homeownership rate, along with the 11th best average credit score.
It has the fifth lowest percentage of residents in fair or poor health, and more than 98 percent of the population has health insurance.
It also has the 31st lowest violent crime rate and 19th lowest pedestrian death rate in the country.
Carmel, Indiana was rated the best small city to live in, with one of the lowest unemployment rates at just 3 percent
3. Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington, Massachusetts was rated as the third best small city to live in, with the fourth lowest property crime rate and the 37th lowest violent crime rate.
It has one of the fewest car crash deaths in the country, and one of the highest median annual household incomes at over $206,000.
Lexington also benefits from Massachusetts having the best school system in the country.
It has the second-highest percentage of people with health insurance, the eighth-lowest percentage of adults in poor or poor health, and the 22nd-most fitness centers per capita.