Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small towns

21 of 100

21. Hunter's Creek, FL

Kids roll along at a July 4th event Vote for this town as fan favorite: Thanks for liking one of Money's Best Places to Live. Now take charge of your financial life: Like Money magazine on Facebook for analysis and advice you can trust. WINNER Top 100 rank: 21 Population: 11,700 Compare Hunter's Creek to Top 10 Best Places Built around a golf course and several waterways, this unincorporated area 15 miles south of Orlando is right next door to the Happiest Place on Earth--or at least Florida’s version. Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios, where many residents work, are all commuting distance away. Hunter’s Creek hosts several family-oriented events, including an annual Halloween haunted house, most of which are provided by the local homeowner’s association (it charges all residents a fee). Hunter’s Creek has become considerably more affordable since housing prices plummeted in 2008. --A.W. Subscribe to Money Magazine Fan Favorite Towns It's your turn to choose. Which town should be No. 1? Fan Favorite Foods Share your town's specialty and pick your top dish.

Kids roll along at a July 4th event

Thanks for liking one of Money's Best Places to Live.

Now take charge of your financial life: Like Money magazine on Facebook for analysis and advice you can trust.

WINNER

Top 100 rank: 21
Population: 11,700
Compare Hunter's Creek to Top 10 Best Places

Built around a golf course and several waterways, this unincorporated area 15 miles south of Orlando is right next door to the Happiest Place on Earth--or at least Florida’s version. Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios, where many residents work, are all commuting distance away. Hunter’s Creek hosts several family-oriented events, including an annual Halloween haunted house, most of which are provided by the local homeowner’s association (it charges all residents a fee). Hunter’s Creek has become considerably more affordable since housing prices plummeted in 2008. --A.W.

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Fan Favorite Towns

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Fan Favorite Foods

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Is Hunter's Creek a great town, or what?

Hunter's Creek stats

	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$87,801	$99,975
Job growth % (2000-2010)*	36.84%	24.63%
See jobs near Hunter's Creek
Median home price	$80,000	$265,929
See Hunter's Creek homes for sale
Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	30.2%	25.1%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	27.7%	24.7%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	1³	1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	16³	16
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	2,288	2,758
High temp in July ° F	91.6°	84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F	47.7°	20.9°
Median age	32.8	36.35

Financial	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$87,801	$99,975
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)	$89,868	$95,706
State sales tax	6.00%	5.75%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	N.A.	7.37%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	N.A.	3.13%
Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)	$2,182	$1,687
Job growth % (2000-2010)*	36.84%	24.63%
See jobs near Hunter's Creek
Housing
Median home price	$80,000	$265,929
Average property taxes (2010)	$2,420	$4,083
See Hunter's Creek homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and professional schools (within 30 miles)	7	28
Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	30.2%	25.1%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	27.7%	24.7%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)	100.0/0.0	92.1/7.9
Quality of life
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)	90.0%	78.5%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	1³	1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	16³	16
Median commute time (in minutes)	20.6	23.3
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer	7.3%	15.4%
% population walk or bike to work	1.5%	2.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	18	30
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	2,288	2,758
Bars (within 15 miles)	184	208
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	161	165
Libraries (within 15 miles)	23	74
Museums (accredited by AAM; within 30 miles)	4	10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	0	16
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)	0.1	1.2
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)	48.01	39.07
% clear days in the area	24	27
High temp in July ° F	91.6°	84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F	47.7°	20.9°
Meet the neighbors
Median age	32.8	36.35
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	75.7%	74.5%
Married %	62.3%	61.5%
Divorced %	8.1%	7.6%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)	107.8	71.0

See all

More financial, housing, school, quality of life stats

From the September 2011 issue

Notes: *County data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2009 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.

Top companies | Home deals | More

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Fun festivals

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Where homes are affordable

Residents who buy real estate in these 25 growing towns see their incomes go the furthest.
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70+ years in one town

78-year-old Ron Roeser still lives next door to the home where he grew up in Chanhassen, MN.
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Best Places Jeopardy!

TV's Jeopardy! will feature a category of Best Places clues. Try the online version’s questions.
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Fan Favorite Food

We asked readers to share their favorite hometown dishes. Now it’s time for you to choose: The most popular dish will be named Fan Favorite!

Hometown dish	Town
1. Low Cal Tex Mex	Seguin, TX
2. Chile Relleno	Seguin, TX
3. Super Bowl Breakfast	Jamestown, CA,
4. Texas BBQ	Luling, TX
5. Shrimp 'n Grits to die for!	Raleigh, NC

See the rest

Fan Favorite Towns

Money picked the top 100. Now it's your turn: Which town will be our fan favorite? 'Like' your town and it might just make it to No. 1.

Town	# of Likes
1. Saratoga Springs, NY	407
2. Glen Ellyn, IL	202
3. Castle Rock, CO	199
4. Mason, OH	181
5. Oswego, IL	172

See the rest

Find Your Best Places

How we picked the Best Places

Using statistics from data services company Onboard Informatics, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families. (Last year, we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.) More

Comments? E-mail the editors

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