#1 Ithaca, NY

This town in upstate New York ranked first for a number of reasons: Ithaca ranks number one in entrepreneurial activity and research and development, while also having a high number of college-educated people. Cornell University, located in this town of 30,000 (not including students), enriches the area with art collections, beautiful gardens, and vast natural areas of the Cornell Plantations. You can find more than 100 waterfalls, lakes, and gorges dotting the landscape near Ithaca College. For the complete rankings click here.

[Photo: Cornell University from McGraw Tower, Wikimedia Commons]