Westchesterites are, as New Yorkers, prone to asserting that our hometowns are far and away the greatest places to live and are absolutely willing to throw down at even the implication that perhaps somewhere else has a better bagel shop.
One county village, however, might have a bit of a leg-up when it comes to proclamations of superiority. As USA Today released its annual rankings of the best place to live in every U.S. state, Croton-on-Hudson walked away with the coveted title in New York.
The media company weighed various factors in determining what merits the “best” place to live in a state, everything from home values to available entertainment, crime rates, local economic factors, and even proximity to major metropolitan hubs. (If it sounds like we just described Westchester in general, you can imagine how hard the selection process was for poor USA Today.)
What pushed Croton to the top? Aside from the usual benefits of a suburban Westchester life, the relatively small population of just 8,209 residents has grown by 2.8 percent over the past five years, and enjoys an exceedingly low crime rate: compared to the national average of 383 violent crimes per 100,000 people, Croton-on-Hudson measures eight times lower, at just 48.
The village also benefited from a high (by national standards) average property value of $519,400 and a median household income of nearly $118,000.
Think your town deserves the crown instead? Drop us a comment below to tell us who you think is the best place to live in Westchester! (And obviously, by extension, New York, America, and the universe.)
