Small-Town Living is Great, and Many of the Best are Nearby

A half-dozen of the best small towns in the country are less than a five-hour drive away from Yakima, and while we didn’t make the list (our population is too large) Ellensburg, just 30 miles away, did. The list is compiled by the website Liveability-dot-com. Their website describes the process like this: "To create this list, we used a modified version of the robust methodology we developed with the Martin Prosperity Institute for our annual Livability 100. We examined more than 40 data points each for more than 12,000 towns with populations between 1,000 and 20,000. These scores were weighted based on an exclusive survey conducted for Livability by the leading global market research firm, Ipsos Public Affairs. These cities and towns allow for the tight-knit communities key to small-town living coupled with the amenities you’d expect in larger cities."

We are surrounded by mini-greatness:

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

#7 Hood River, OR

#10 Port Angeles, WA

#21 Tumwater, WA

#35 Newport, OR

#47 Astoria, OR

#58 Ellensburg, WA

#60 La Grande, OR

#65 Coupeville, WA

#72 Anacortes, WA

#75 Coos Bay, OR