top 10 cities

Best U.S. cities to live

Money's list of America's best small cities - 2010

CNNMoney.com

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Why is Eden Prairie No. 1 this year? Not only is it family-friendly, it has a dynamite economy too.

At 5.1%, its unemployment rate is nearly one percentage point below the county rate and more than four points below the national average. It helps when you've got 50,000 jobs right in town.

Major employers include Fortune 500 trucking company C.H. Robinson, hearing-aid maker Starkey Labs, and the Minnesota Vikings, whose practice facility and front office are here. As for fiscal strength, Moody's gives the town a perfect AAA bond rating.

While it doesn't have much of a downtown, there's plenty of outer beauty: from gently rolling hills to 17 lakes that residents flock to year-round for swimming and ice skating. Town parks are laced with 125 miles of running, hiking, and biking trails.

No wonder residents rank among the healthiest people in the nation. Add in top-notch schools and safe streets and you've got a place that's tough to beat.

Columbia/Ellicott City, MD

One of the nation's oldest settlements (it was founded in 1772), Ellicott City snuggles up to one of its newest, Columbia (a planned community conjured up out of 14,000 acres of farmland in 1967). This duo remains a perennial contender on our Best Places list thanks to its mix of charm, comfort and careful zoning.

Historic Ellicott City's steep Main Street is lined with antique shops and teahouses, while Columbia, a cluster of nine residential villages around a town center, is home to offices of such high-powered tech companies as Arbitron, Merkle and Northrop Grumman. No wonder residents' median household income has risen more than 20% since 2000.

Though traffic can be a headache, it's easy to escape it: More than a third of Columbia's acreage has been set aside as open space, including a 950-acre nature preserve, a skateboard park and three lakes.

Newton, Massachusetts

Less than 45 minutes from downtown Boston via train, subway, or express bus, Newton is divided into 13 "villages" loaded with classic New England charm. Most have pedestrian-friendly shopping districts, parks, and playgrounds.

The town weathered the economic downturn fairly well, thanks to such stable local employers as Boston College and Newton-Wellesley Hospital. And Greater Boston, of course, offers a wealth of health care, education, and government jobs.

Residents rave about the top-ranked schools, and parents are excited for the new high school opening this fall. "It's absolutely beautiful," says Claudia Wu, 51, an attorney with three school-age kids who has lived in Newton for 20 years. It should be: The school cost $197 million, an amount that sparked plenty of local outrage.

After all, living in this community is expensive enough: a three-bedroom house runs nearly $600,000. If it weren't for those hefty price tags, this town would be pretty close to perfect. --Beth Braverman

Bellevue, Washington

If forested cityscapes are your thing, this is your kind of place. Bellevue's compact downtown bristles with new skyscrapers that seem to hover above Lake Washington -- and when the clouds part, mountain views loom.

Real estate isn't a bargain, but the town's jobless rate is more than two points below that of the Seattle metro area, thanks to a recent influx of jobs from such employers as Microsoft (which has moved 6,500 positions here), T-Mobile, Verizon, and Expedia. In fact, Bellevue has more jobs than it does residents.

And the population is diverse: Nearly a quarter of residents are Asian, and nearly a third are foreign born.

The town's high schools consistently land at the top of state rankings. There's also an embarrassment of arts and entertainment, including a philharmonic orchestra, fine arts museum, botanical garden, youth theater, annual jazz festival, and 74 (!) parks. --Jessica Levine

Mckinney, Texas

Lots of towns near Dallas have low crime, affordable homes, and good jobs; McKinney is no exception. What makes it stand out is its gem of a downtown. Lovingly restored 19th-century buildings house restaurants, boutiques, and galleries; the 1875 courthouse contains a new performing-arts center.

McKinney's employment opportunities are robust, sparing many residents a rush-hour drive of up to an hour to Dallas. Defense contractor Raytheon has a 3,700-person division here, and a mix of businesses in financial services, medical technology, and eco-friendly manufacturing are moving in.

Though McKinney has grown like mad over the past decade, you'd never suspect it when driving through its tree-filled communities surrounded by ponds, parks, and hiking trails. --Vanessa Richardson

Fort Collins, CO

One of the first things you notice about this Rocky Mountain city is that practically every new road has a bike lane. Even the wheelless can get in on the action now that Fort Collins has a bike library: Residents and visitors can check out a bicycle for up to seven days, free.

The city's Old Town historic district contains four microbreweries and more than two dozen restaurants. Bioscience and tech companies, including Agilent Technologies, Hewlett-Packard and Kodak, keep employment opportunities high. Colorado State University occupies a scenic spot in the middle of town. And the city just received a grant from the Department of Energy to start a solar-energy project downtown.

As for health care, the award-winning Poudre Valley Health System will soon be home to a brand-new cancer center. While the excellent schools have been overcrowded in recent years, officials have taken steps by moving some grades to different buildings.

Overland Park, KS

Overland Park's flat terrain and grid layout don't provide much drama, but for its residents, reasonable housing prices, good jobs and proximity to Kansas City, Mo. are excitement enough.

The city (where Sprint Nextel employs 12,000 people) recently began building a dozen soccer fields to host national tournaments - good news for local businesses. There are six major medical centers here too, and schools are among the best in the nation.

Happily, development hasn't paved over the green space: The Arboretum and Botanical Gardens covers 300 lush acres, for example.

Fishers, IN

Fishers is growing fast, attracting residents who are young (median age: 30) and smart (over 60% have a bachelor's degree or more). It has therange of pluses common among our top 10, including a strong economy (lots of life-science companies are moving in), low home prices ($149,700 for the typical house) and good schools (they get high rankings in the state).

Though a walkable downtown is still in the planning stages, transportation is already here: Fishers started a commuter bus service to downtown Indianapolis and plans rapid transit via rail in the next two to five years.

When it comes to smart planning and sheer livability, other places could learn a lot from this little city in the Midwest.

Ames, Iowa

Unemployment at 4.3%? That's not a misprint: Ames is the home of Iowa State University, which employs 9,000, and there are lots of biotech and agriculture jobs nearby. Like many states, Iowa has trimmed university funding, but the school has not had to make drastic cuts.

If the people who live here get bored, they have only themselves to blame. Besides Iowa State's cultural and athletic offerings, Ames boasts 36 parks, a bustling shopping district, and a new aquatic center.

Sports are big in this town: The high school boys basketball team, girls tennis team, and girls golf team are state champions. But the friendliness of the community is what newcomers tend to remark upon most.

Says Craig McFarland, 55, a financial adviser who moved here with his family in 2006: "Our first day, a neighbor came over with cookies." --Anne Lee

Rogers, Arkansas

If you're inclined to dismiss a small city in Arkansas as a backwater, you're making a big mistake. Rogers is right next door to Bentonville, where Wal-Mart is headquartered.

Given the power of the retail behemoth, many Fortune 500 firms that sell it their wares have moved executives to the area. Lots of them have settled in Rogers, giving it a cosmopolitan feel. (Wal-Mart's CEO, Mike Duke, also calls Rogers home.)

They're drawn by top-notch schools and outdoor activities, including swimming and wakeboarding on the town's two lakes and golfing on its five courses.

(Not all is picture perfect: Rogers does contain some rundown areas.) Though Wal-Mart has had layoffs in recent years, the jobless rate here remains low. --A.L.