One of America's best small cities is in WA, says US News & World Report
Looking for the best place to live in Washington state? You might want to consider Sammamish, according to a new ranking from U.S. News and World Report.
On June 4, the publication released its list of the 15 best small cities in the U.S. to live in this year. Sammamish took the No. 6 spot. This comes after U.S. News named Sammamish the No. 11 city to live in nationwide in late May.
The King County city, located east of Bellevue, earned high marks from U.S. News for its job opportunities, which the publication attributes to its proximity to Seattle-area tech companies. It ranked No. 3 in the nation for its job market and its median household income of just over $235,000 a year was nearly triple the national rate, right around $80,000.
Its proximity to nature and location on Lake Sammamish, meanwhile, helped the city place in the top 25 in the country for desirability and quality of life.
There is a catch, though. As with much of Washington, Sammamish has a high cost of living. The median home price is $1,185,433, according to U.S. News, while the median monthly rent is $2,403.
Sammamish was the only west coast city to make the list of the best small cities. Here's the rest of the top ten:
Johns Creek, Georgia
Apex, North Carolina
Leander, Texas
Rochester Hills, Michigan
Troy, Michigan
Sammamish, Washington
Ellicott City, Maryland
Flower Mound, Texas
Pflugerville, Texas
Plymouth, Minnesota
While Sammamish was the only place in Washington on the list of the best small cities in the U.S., a few others made the list of the top 250 cities overall, with Seattle's eastern suburbs featuring heavily.
Redmond was the next Washington city on the list at No. 83, followed by Bellevue at No. 126. Kirkland was the last Washington city to make the list at No. 133.
According to U.S. News, each city is given a score across five categories: quality of life, value and affordability, desirability strength of the job market and net migration. Quality of life accounts for 26% of each city's score, and is determined by the quality of the area's schools, infrastructure, health care, economy and natural environment. The other categories account for between 23% and 25% of the total score, with the exception of net migration, which accounts for 2%.
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