Wisconsin Is Home To 28 Of The Best Small Cities In Nation

MILWAUKEE, WI — Personal finance site WalletHub released its 2019 Best Small Cities in America, which only included metros with populations between 25,000 and 100,000. You can read the full report here.

First, here are the top 10 overall small cities in the country:

1. Leawood, Kansas: 71.98
2. Brentwood, Tennessee: 71.53
3. Sammamish, Washington: 71.34
4. Melrose, Massachusetts: 70.7
5. Carmel, Indiana: 70.59
6. Lexington, Massachusetts: 70.55
7. Milton, Massachusetts: 70.46
8. Brookfield, Wisconsin: 70.38
9. Fair Lawn, New Jersey: 70.25
10. Cedar Park, Texas: 69.98

Wisconsin had 28 small cities make the overall rankings. Here's how they stacked up:

Brookfield
Total Score: 70.38

Menomonee Falls
Total Score: 67.05

Appleton
Total Score: 67.01

Stevens Point
Total Score 65.95

Waukesha
Total Score: 65.85

New Berlin
Total Score: 65.52

Fitchburg
Total Score: 65.01

West Bend
Total Score: 64.58

Neenah
Total Score: 63.6

Sun Prairie
Total Score: 63.4

Mount Pleasant
Total Score: 63.36

Oshkosh
Total Score: 63.32

Franklin
Total Score: 62.99

Eau Claire
Total Score: 62.85

Manitowoc
Total Score: 62.49

Wausau
Total Score: 61.7

Sheboygan
Total Score: 61.49

La Crosse
Total Score: 61.21

Oak Creek
Total Score: 61.15

Wauwatosa
Total Score: 61.04

Janesville
Total Score: 60.55

Kenosha
Total Score: 60.38

Fond du Lac
Total Score: 59.75

Superior
Total Score: 59.61

Racine
Total Score: 58.49

Greenfield
Total Score: 58.05

Beloit
Total Score: 56.71

West Allis
Total Score: 56.4

Information about the city, population size, when it was founded, or a quote from an elected official about the high ranking.

The list compared more than 1,200 cities across the nation based on 42 key indicators of liveability, including home ownership rate, the number of performing arts centers in the area, job growth and more.

Each relevant metric was listed with its corresponding weight and the cities were subsequently graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the maximum small city experience.

Leawood, Kansas ranked as the best small city in the nation, according to WalletHub, followed by Brentwood, Tennessee and Sammamish, Washington.

Bessemer, Alabama finished as the worst small city in the United States.

“Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes, to name just a few advantages,” authors of the WalletHub study said.

Patch editor Gus Saltonstall contributed to this article.