A study conducted by the American City Business Journals, Inc. to find the best small towns across the country names St. Mary's County, Maryland, the best small town in the mid-Atlantic region.
The study used 20 statistical indicators to rate the quality of life in 1,766 micropolitan and rural counties and independent cities across America. The categories were: Stability, Work within neighborhood, Work within county, Short commutes, Mass transit availability, Young adults, Racial diversity, Poverty, Unemployment, Top-level jobs, Income, Home value, Home affordability, Property taxes, New housing units, Big houses, Homeowner rate, High school graduates, College graduates, and Graduate degrees.
The study did not include the nation's 1,089 metropolitan counties or the 286 micropolitan and rural counties that had populations below 5,000. All statistics used in the study were collected by the 2000 federal census, the most recent tabulation of official data at the county level.
For more information about the study and to find out more small towns that were named in the study for other regions around the country, visit the Business Journal's website at http://www.bizjournals.com/edit_special/18.html