As seen in the August 2008 issue of Money magazine and on the web at CNNMoney.com.
Peoria, AZ
Top 100 rank: 55
Population: 142,000
You can feel Peoria’s historic ties to Phoenix by walking its streets, which are aligned by a common grid system.
Sports are a big draw here: Peoria is the spring training home of the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners baseball teams, which share the Peoria Sports Complex. There’s been lots of development lately, including the 280-seat Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, which opened last year.
But the city has also set aside more than 750 acres of open space for preservation and recreation, a good thing for nature-loving residents.