Smaller cities can be great places to live, as they have all the amenities an urban environment can give without the usual annoyances, like noise or traffic.
Like this small city in Pennsylvania, which — as it just so happens — was ranked amongst the United States’s best.
WalletHub conducted and published a study on Tuesday covering the “Best Small Cities in America (2025).” Lancaster ranked in the top one percent with a score of 68.63 out of 100.
These grades were determined after WalletHub researchers analyzed over 1,300 cities across five main metrics: “Affordability,” “Economic Health,” “Education & Health,” “Quality of Life,” and “Safety.” Factors such as “Housing Costs,’ “Job Growth,” and “Share of Obese Adults” were also taken into account.
The top three best small cities in the U.S. based on all that were found to be Apex, North Carolina, in third; Brookefield, Wisconsin, in second; and Carmel, Indiana, in first.
“Carmel … is the best small city to live in, due in part to strong economic factors,” the report reads. “Carmel has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, at 3.30 percent.
“It also has the 46th-lowest cost of rent as a share of median household income, at around 14 percent. On top of that, the median annual household income is nearly $135,000, 125th-highest out of the more than 1,300 cities in our study.”
The study adds: “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.”
The smaller city at the bottom of the list, on the other hand, ranked at the very bottom of the list.
“Moving from a bustling metropolis to a small city could drastically cut down your cost of living,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “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.”