Huntington Woods Makes Forbes' 'America's Friendliest Towns' List

Accolades just keep pouring in for Huntington Woods.

The city was ranked No. 9 on Forbes "America's Friendliest Towns" list posted Tuesday on the magazine's website.

[What do you think makes Huntington Woods one of "America's Friendliest Towns"? Leave a comment!]

Forbes used data from the U.S. Census, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chronicle of Philanthropy and City-Data.com to rank 500 towns with populations between 5,500 and 150,000. The rankings were based on the percentage of owner-occupied homes, crime rate, charitable giving and percentage of college graduates.

Nextdoor.com, a San Francisco, Calif.-based social network for neighborhoods, then surveyed its members in towns that rated the highest to helped decide the top 15.

"A historic town with some of the oldest architecture in the state, Huntington Woods sends out a quarterly newsletter outlining local news and events to residents," Forbes notes. "The local library hosts many child-friendly events like magic shows and reading groups and dozens of community clubs including a babysitting co-op, a garden club and a residents association allow neighbors to connect.

"One of the biggest town events each year is a week-long July 4th celebration that includes a parade, a pet pageant and pancake breakfasts," the report says.

Forbes notes that Huntington Woods, with a population of (approximately) 6,280, is the smallest city on the list. It also says 95 percent of households own their residences and 75.5 percent of adult residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.

The top 10 communities on Forbes' "America's Friendliest Towns" list are as follows.

• 1. Sammamish, WA
• 2. Orinda, CA
• 3. Fishers, IN
• 4. Seal Beach, CA
• 5. Westerville, OH
• 6. Frisco, TX
• 7. Alpharetta, GA
• 8. Downers Grove, IL
• 9. Huntington Woods, MI
• 10. Tooele, UT

The rest of the list is available on forbes.com.

Huntington Woods also was named as a top city for social seekers and a best place for suburbanites in Coldwell Banker's "Best Place to Live" series earlier this year.