Melrose Ranks Sixth In National Best Small Cities Listing

MELROSE, MA — Melrose is the sixth best small city in the United States, according to a new ranking from the personal finance website WalletHub.

Melrose beat out a number of other Massachusetts communities on the list in its overall ranking, placing behind only Lexington among Massachusetts communities.

The ranking came out on Tuesday. Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur took to social media on Tuesday night to celebrate the news.

“Bragging time, as Melrose comes in 6th out of 1,319 cities!” he wrote.

The WalletHub ranking analyzed data on hundreds of communities across the United States. The ranking accounted for factors ranging from housing costs, to school-system quality, to restaurants per capita, as noted on the WalletHub website.

Ranked categories included education and health, safety, economic health, quality of life and affordability. WalletHub rated Melrose most highly in its education and health category.

Melrose has performed well in these rankings before. It has, in fact, climbed in its overall position compared to last year, rising from a spot as the ninth best small city in the U.S. to sixth best this fall.

Lancaster, Penn. ranked as the best small city in the United States in 2022. In addition to Lexington and Melrose, high ranking Massachusetts communities included Needham, Milton, Arlington and Burlington.

See the full 2022 WalletHub ranking here.

Correction: The original story said Melrose was ranked most highly in the quality of life category. Melrose's highest category ranking came in the education and health category, not quality of life.