Wallethub: Carmel is the "Best Small City in America"

CARMEL, Ind.–Carmel was ranked the best small city in America in a recent study conducted by the personal finance company Wallethub.

Westfield was ranked fifth in the study while Fishers came in sixth. WalletHub 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 restaurants per capita.

“Low unemployment and high incomes have helped people in Carmel obtain high credit scores. The median credit score in the city is 775, which is the 20th-highest in the country and well into the excellent credit range. Finally, Carmel is a good place for residents’ health and safety. It has the 11th-lowest share of adults in fair or poor health, along with the 21st-lowest premature death rate in the country. When it comes to safety, it has the third-lowest pedestrian fatality rate and the 70th-lowest violent crime rate,” the report states.

Westfield, Fishers, and Carmel all ranked in the top 50 in affordability, education, health, and safety.

“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. While small cities may lack some advantages of big cities, like robust public transportation systems, they make up for these shortcomings in other areas,” said Wallethub analyst Chip Lupo.

Almost half of Americans (47%) say they would prefer to live in the suburbs, compared to 24% for urban areas and 23% for rural communities.

You can view the full study here.