10) Berkley
Ranked first among many Desirable Places to Live lists is the city of Berkley. This universal favorite has a population of just 15,000. The city’s annual crime rate is just 0.46, which means it’s safer than 75 percent of other cities in the US. Life in Berkley isn’t very expensive either. The cost of living here is less than the national average. The median house or condo value stands at just $143,000; the median gross rent, at $1000. The median household income of the city is 40 percent higher than the rest of the state. Berkley’s high school graduation rate is 11 percent higher than the national average, which is quite reassuring if you’ve kids and you’re worried about their education. In terms of demographics, 91 percent of the city’s population are White. In other words, Berkeley is a small community of affluent, people with a low cost of living and a crime rate far lower than the national average.
