Hudson Valley Towns Rank High In 'Best Small Cities In America' Report

HUDSON VALLEY — For those of us who live in the Hudson Valley, there are plenty of reasons to have hometown pride, but now we have proof that some of the best small cities in the country are right here.

Almost a dozen small cities in the Hudson Valley are considered some of the Best Small Cities in America, according to a new study by WalletHub.

In order to help people choose the perfect small city to put down roots, researchers at the personal finance website crunched the numbers and compared more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 45 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs to school system quality to the crime rate and the number of restaurants per capita.

Given the large sample of cities ranked in the study, WalletHub grouped the results by percentile. The 99th percentile represents the top percent of small cities in America.

11 Hudson Valley cities made the list, with 5 ranking in the 50th percentile or higher.

White Plains ranked as the best small city in the Hudson Valley, according to WalletHub. It landed in the 86th percentile, ranked 73rd for safety, 123rd for education and health, 228th for quality of life rank, 247th for economic health rank, and 1132nd for affordability.

Carmel, Indiana, ranked as the best small city in the country, according to WalletHub, followed by Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Lexington, Massachusetts.

Isla Vista, California, ranked as the worst small city in the nation. The unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County scored in the 1st percentile.

"Moving from a bustling metropolis to a small city could drastically cut down your cost of living. On top of that, the best small cities offer strong job markets, high-quality education, good health care, safe living conditions and plenty of local flair to help you achieve a high quality of life," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. "While small cities may lack some advantages of big cities, like robust public transportation systems, they make up for these shortcomings in other areas."

These are the Hudson Valley cities on the list along with their percentiles:

• White Plains (86th percentile)
• New Rochelle (70th percentile)
• New City (69th percentile)
• Ossining (61st percentile)
• Poughkeepsie (53rd percentile)
• Port Chester (48th percentile)
• Mount Vernon (48th percentile)
• Middletown (46th percentile)
• Harrison (45th percentile)
• Newburgh (18th percentile)
• Spring Valley (5th percentile)

Read the full report here.