A new report gives some small Arizona communities bragging rights — at least over some others.
WalletHub looked at 1,268 smaller cities and towns across the nation to determine which are the best and the worst places to live.
Of course, a lot of that is subjective. It depends on what’s important to you.
Consider: In its 2015 “Best & Worst Small Cities in America,” the financial advice web site rates Prescott the fourth best place in the state to live. That’s despite Prescott being marked down — at least by WalletHub standards — for having one of the slower population growth rates in the entire country.
So what helped boost its rankings?
Bars. Lots of them. More per resident than any other Arizona community studied. And, in fact, in the Top 100 nationwide.
Queen Creek, by contrast, was listed as the top small community in the state largely by virtue of its fast population growth. But living there has some downsides, including what WalletHub says is among the highest commute times.
Florence excelled in housing affordability, a ranking computed using the median annual household income against the median prices to own and rent. It also had a low overall cost of living.
In Flagstaff, the rate of home ownership was very low. But getting to work each day was very quick — though not as quick as Sierra Vista.
Near the other end of the scale, Marana residents had among the longer commute times, both among Arizonans and residents of other small cities nationwide. But it scored well when WalletHub looked at both population and income growth.
And Marana had the lowest percentage of residents below the poverty line of any Arizona community.
Oro Valley, down the road, ranked lower due to slow population growth and a relative scarcity of restaurants. But it picked up points for having a higher percentage of its residents with a bachelor’s degree than other small Arizona communities.
Sahuarita also got points for its rapid population growth.
