Personal-finance site WalletHub announced their annual list of Best Small Cities today, and Central Ohio suburb Dublin managed to crack the Top 20 list in 14th place.
“Urbanization might be the trend for much of the population, especially Millennials, but not everyone craves the bright lights and crowded spaces of a big metropolis,” said WalletHub author Richie Bernardo. “For those who appreciate fewer degrees of separation and want more bang for their buck, small-city life can be tough to beat.”
Of course, that’s rapidly changing in Dublin, which is seeing urbanization trending with the first phase of the Bridge Park development, as well as denser and more modern housing developments proposed in the area.
“Our focus is really on giving people an urban, more contemporary way of living in a suburban location, since not everybody wants to live Downtown,” stated Kaufman Development CEO Brett Kaufman in a recent interview about their new Dublin housing plan. “People in the suburbs are thinking about the same things that people in an urban environment are thinking about; they care about design, they care about walkability, they care about sustainability, they care about wellness, they want community programs.”
Regardless, the WalletHub study took into account several factors when measuring all US cities with between 25,000 and 100,000 people. That includes housing costs, school-system quality, and number of restaurants per capita. Earlier this year, we reported that Dublin is the third fastest-growing Central Ohio suburb so far this decade, and is on track to become the largest Central Ohio suburb by 2020.
The only other two Ohio cities in the Top 100 list were Mason (suburban Cincinnati) in 41st place and Westerville in 97th place. The list was topped by Westfield, Indiana.
For more information and to view the full list, visit www.wallethub.com.