One New York city ranks among America's top 5 best small cities

One city within New York State was ranked among the top one percent of the best small cities in America, according to a new WalletHub study.

Big city life isn't for everyone, and according to WalletHub, 47 percent of Americans prefer to live in the suburbs instead of major cities or rural areas. Smaller cities, however, can be a good compromise for many, as it can offer smaller but still tight-knit communities, more affordability, more space and shorter work commutes.

Smaller cities in America can differ on many levels and not all offer the same quality of life. To determine which small cities stand out compared to the rest, WalletHub compared over 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 across 45 indicators of livability

ranging from housing costs and school-system quality to the number of restaurants per capita.

"Moving from a bustling metropolis to a small city could drastically cut down your cost of living," WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. "While small cities may lack some advantages of big cities, like robust public transportation systems, they make up for these shortcomings in other areas."

Source: WalletHub

Here is what to know about how New York's small cities ranked.

Saratoga Springs ranks No. 5 best small city

Saratoga Springs in Saratoga County, NY, ranked as the fifth-best small city in America, with an overall score of 70.08, according to the WalletHub study.

The city scored the No. 427 spot for the affordability rank, No. 210 for the economic health rank, No. 56 for the education & health rank, No. 39 for the quality of life rank and No. 278 for the safety rank.

Since the sample size of cities was so large in this study, WalletHub grouped the cities by percentile, placing Saratoga Springs in the 99th percentile, which represents the top one percent of small cities in America.

Here are the percentiles some other small NY cities were grouped in:

• Ithaca, NY: 87th percentile
• Auburn, NY: 63rd percentile
• Irondequoit, NY: 33rd percentile
• Brighton, NY: 45th percentile
• North Tonawanda, NY: 74th percentile
• Cheektowaga, NY: 39th percentile
• Elmira, NY: 16th percentile
• Binghamton, NY: 47th percentile
• Rome, NY: 54th percentile
• Utica, NY: 37th percentile
• Shirley, NY: 47th percentile
• Long Beach, NY: 89th percentile
• Poughkeepsie, NY: 64th percentile

WalletHub's 10 best small cities in America

1. Lexington, Massachusetts
2. Brookfield, Wisconsin
3. Carmel, Indiana
4. Apex, North Carolina
5. Saratoga Springs, New York
6. Westfield, Indiana
7. Milton, Massachusetts
8. Arlington, Massachusetts
9. Franklin, Tennessee
10. Fishers, Indiana

How WalletHub assessed small cities on livability

To determine the best small cities in America, WalletHub compared 1,318 cities (across five dimensions: affordability, economic health, education & health, quality of life and safety.

The affordability category analyzed these factors;

• Median household income
• Cost of living
• Homeownership rate
• Housing costs
• Share of households with severe housing cost burden

The economic health category analyzed these factors:

• Population growth
• Income growth
• Job growth
• Unemployment rate
• Share of population living in poverty
• Debt per median earnings
• Foreclosure rate
• Share of People who had a bankruptcy in the past 12 months
• Median credit score

The education & health category analyzed these factors:

• School system quality
• High school graduation rate
• Share of adults aged 25 & older with a high school diploma or higher
• Share of insured population
• Premature death rate
• Share of adults in poor or fair health
• Share of live births with low birthweight
• Share of obese adults
• Share of physically inactive adults
• Limited access to healthy foods

The quality of life category analyzed these factors:

• Average commute time
• Share of population who walk to work
• Average weekly work hours
• Number of attractions
• Restaurants per capita
• Bars per capita
• Clubs per capita
• Coffee & tea shops per capita
• Movie theaters per capita
• Museums per capita
• Performing arts centers per capita
• Fitness centers per capita
• Bike rental facilities per capita
• Parks per capita
• Department stores per capita

The safety category analyzed these factors:

• Violent crime rate
• Property crime rate
• Motor vehicle crash deaths per capita
• Pedestrian fatalities per capita
• Alcohol impaired driving fatalities per capita
• Drug poisoning deaths per capita

Data used to create the ranking was collected as of Sept. 1, 2026, and was sourced from multiple entities, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Areavubes and WalletHub research.

—Madison Scott is a New York Connect reporter, covering entertainment, breaking and consumer news, and trending topics with a focus on stories that matter to readers across New York state. She also has an interest in how the system helps or doesn't helpfamilies with missing loved ones. She can be reached at [e-mail].

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: One New York city ranks among America's top 5 best small cities