An analysis of data compared school quality, crime rates, income and education levels and homeownership rates for every incorporated and unincorporated town, city and village within 25 miles of the major city.
Cities on the list were found to "boast good schools, plenty of parks and safe streets where the local kids gather and most of the police's attention goes to errant skateboarders." In addition, the property values and income levels of Sugar Land and the other top suburbs were among the top 10 percent of the comparison group.
Joining Sugar Land on the list are communities like Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Piedmont, Calif.; University Park and Highland Park, Texas; Paradise Valley and Tempe, Ariz.; Coral Gables, Fla.; and Bethesda, Md.
To select what Forbes.com called America's "finest suburbs," the following factors were considered:
- School rankings were from Department of Education data on graduation rates, per-pupil spending and student-to-teacher ratio.
- Crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation included only per capita violent crimes and property crimes.
- Income, education level and homeownership came from Census Bureau data.
