This week Money Magazine named Snoqualmie one of the Best Place to Live [in America], ranking the small city with almost 12,000 residents #5 on its yearly list.
Money stated that it used an extensive process to come up with the list, starting with all towns with populations between 10,000 – 50,000. Then towns with extremes in wealth or poverty compared to the rest of the state, lack of diversity, high crime and problem schools are excluded.
With the list narrowed down to about 2,000 towns, a formula was then applied that assessed towns across 40 different data points. Once that data was crunched, they then set out and visited the towns that had risen to the top, sending reporters out to interview community members and boards, visit parks, learn about the towns and cultural events in the area.
This was the first time Snoqualmie made it to the top 10 on Money’s Best Places to Live list. One other Washington town made the list – Mukilteo at #47.
Money’s Best Places to Live 2015
- Apex, NC
- Papillion, NE
- Sharon, MA
- Louisville, CO
- Snoqualmie, WA
- Sherwood, OR
- Chanhassen, MN
- Coppell, TX
- Simsbury, CT
- Solon, OH
Snoqualmie According to Money Magazine:
This stunning spot near the Cascades has long been known for Snoqualmie Falls, a symbol of the natural beauty that surrounds the onetime timber and railroad town. These days Snoqualmie is getting traction for other reasons: top-ranked schools, a superb network of bike paths, and residential cul-de-sacs teeming with kids (more than a third of locals are under 18).
Read the full Money Magazine article and see the complete list of 50 ‘Best Places to Live’ towns HERE.
Comments
very nice!!! BUT…..this town needs more than a waterfall (trust me..I lived in Niagara Falls!!) and good schools near pretty cul-de-sacs! there is NO SHOPPING!!!!! there is only one teeny-tiny supermarket with outrageously high prices! there is one Starbucks that never doesn’t have a line out-the-door!!! there is one gas station that gouges with high prices! everyone goes out of the area to shop for anything and everything! the restaurants, even on the Ridge, are second-rate!! no garden centers! no real pharmacy!
I love living here but it could be soooooo much better!!!!!!
So sad. They could have made Snoqualmie an amazing and interesting town. Instead they clear cut everything and smashed a bunch of cookie cutter houses all together (creating a huge population spike without making sure the infrastructure (I.E. Roads, schools) would be able to handle the growth. In a few years this town will just be another soulless town like Bellevue.
No culture, boring cookie-cutter homes, nothing to do, nothing for teens, nothing within walking distance, poor public transportation. Oh, and boring people.
Meadowbrook farm with weekly history lessons, houses from the 1900s transplanted into downtown, local winery and brewery, sports fields, a protected natural area with a resident elk population, and awesome owners at Carmichaels. Guess you have me at public transportation, probably should try a bicycle and use the snoqualmie valley trail. Boom! (Crowd rises in thunderous applause)
I love what is quaint and rural about Snoqualmie. I hate that it makes it necessary to get on I90 for anything and everything a family needs, day-to-day. I am hopeful that Snoqualmie can grow, offering more options to residents, all the while retaining some of its charm. I believe it’s possible!