Best Small Cities In U.S. 2019: Duluth Makes The List

DULUTH, GA — Duluth may not be the biggest city in Georgia, but it recently received recognition as one of the best small cities in the nation. Personal finance website WalletHub released a study, "2019 Best Small Cities in America," which covered only metro areas with populations between 25,000 and 100,000.

Duluth finished in the 76th percentile overall among the best small cities in the United States:

• Total Score: 63.12
• Affordability Rank: 733
• Economic Health Rank: 329
• Education & Health Rank: 887
• Quality of Life Rank: 97
• Safety Rank: 322

With a population of about 30,000, Duluth is 20 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta; the city is north of Interstate 85 and south of the Chattahoochee River.

Its origins date to the 1870s, when the railroad arrived in the area, according to the city's website. Today, Duluth offers attractions such as Gwinnett Place Mall, the Southeastern Railway Museum, Infinite Energy Center and the Hudgens Center for the Arts.

The WalletHub list compared more than 1,200 small cities across the nation based on 42 key indicators of liveability, including home ownership rate, the number of performing arts centers in the area, job growth and more.

Each relevant metric was listed with its corresponding weight and the cities were subsequently graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the maximum small city experience.

Leawood, Kansas, ranked as the best small city in the nation, according to WalletHub, followed by Brentwood, Tennessee, and Sammamish, Washington.

Bessemer, Alabama, finished as the worst small city in the United States.

"Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes, to name just a few advantages," the authors of the WalletHub study wrote.

Here are the top 10 small cities in the country, ranked by total score:

1. Leawood, Kansas: 71.98
2. Brentwood, Tennessee: 71.53
3. Sammamish, Washington: 71.34
4. Melrose, Massachusetts: 70.7
5. Carmel, Indiana: 70.59
6. Lexington, Massachusetts: 70.55
7. Milton, Massachusetts: 70.46
8. Brookfield, Wisconsin: 70.38
9. Fair Lawn, New Jersey: 70.25
10. Cedar Park, Texas: 69.98

Other Georgia cities on the list that finished above the 50th percentile include Alpharetta (97), Peachtree City (86), Johns Creek (83), Kennesaw (80), Milton (79), Marietta (69) and Smyrna (63).

Patch editor Gus Saltonstall contributed to this article.