Carmel, Zionsville, Westfield ranked in top 10 of ‘Best Small Cities’ in US

Three central Indiana cities have placed in the top ten of a new national list of the best small cities to live in the U.S.

Carmel (#2), Zionsville (#7), and Westfield (#10) ranked in the top ten of WalletHub’s study of the “Best Small Cities in America.” More than 1,300 cities were included in the study.

The rankings were based on 43 “key indicators of livability,” according to WalletHub. Factors include housing costs, quality of local schools, and restaurants per capita.

Cities with populations from 25,000 to 100,00 qualified.

Cities were graded in five overall areas: affordability, economic health, education & health, quality of life, and safety. The maximum score in each subgroup was 20, with an overall score of 100.

2. Carmel

Carmel received an overall score of 70.91. (NOTE: The affordability/economic health/education & health/quality of life/safety totals are rankings out of 1,319.)

7. Zionsville

Zionsville in Boone County had a final tally of 69.9. While it had a very high ranking for affordability, it was in bottom half of the list for quality of life.

10. Westfield

Westfield rounded out the top ten with a score of 69.8. It had high rankings for affordability and safety but also came in the bottom half for quality of life.

Thirty-four Indiana cities were named. Gary had the lowest ranking.

The small city that came in at no. 1 was Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

See the full list on WalletHub.