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Hudson Valley Town Ranks Among Money Magazine's 'Best Places To Live'

CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. -- Clarkstown, known for its bucolic Hudson River setting and proximity to New York City, has made it into Money magazine’s annual list of the best places to hang your hat.

Clarkstown is the only Hudson Valley municipality ranked among the nation's best places to live by Money Magazine.

Clarkstown is the only Hudson Valley municipality ranked among the nation's best places to live by Money Magazine.

Photo Credit: town.clarkstown.ny.us
Germonds Park in the Clarkstown hamlet of West Nyack has an Olympic size swimming pool, among other amenities. The town was recently rated No. 7 in Money magazine's annual list of best places to live.

Germonds Park in the Clarkstown hamlet of West Nyack has an Olympic size swimming pool, among other amenities. The town was recently rated No. 7 in Money magazine's annual list of best places to live.

Photo Credit: Yelp

Made up of more than a dozen hamlets and villages, the Rockland County community was ranked in the Top 10 spots, coming in at No. 7.

Money’s survey leaned heavily on economic factors such as access to good schools and jobs, as well as affordable housing – as it dissected 50 communities around the country.

Clarkstown, with its population of 84,787, was found to have a median home price of $360,000, about 34 percent lower than abodes in Westchester County, a hop, skip and jump across the river.

Clarkstown’s average property tax bills was $12,803 and its unemployment rate was 3.9 percent.

And the average commute for Clarkstownites? About 32 minutes, Money said.

Add an artsy vibe to the mix (American artist Edward Hopper’s childhood home was in Nyack -- OK, it’s mostly in Orangetown, but a piece of it is in Clarkstown -- and lots of cultural things to do, like concerts, plays and art exhibits, and you have a winner, say lovers of the town.

At the very top of Money’s list was Columbia, Md.

Compared to Clarkstown on the median home prices, unemployment rates and commute times, what’s been called a diverse “urban village” wasn’t that far removed.

Columbia’s median home price was $310,000, while its unemployment rate was 3.52 percent and its average commute time, 29 minutes.

However, it has a significantly higher population (102,221) and a much lower average property taxes ($4,442).

The rest of the Top 10 were: (No. 2) Eden Prairie, Minn.; (3) Plano, Texas; (4) West Des Moines, Iowa; (5) Parsippany-Troy Hills, N.J.; (6) Highlands Ranch, Colo.; (8) Weston, Fla.; (9) Beaverton, Ore.; and (10) Naperville, Ill.

To read the full Money magazine report, click here.

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