Time/Money Magazine ranked the top small cities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000, and West Hartford made the cut.

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford Center. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

West Hartford has earned the no. 45 spot on Time/Money Magazine’s ranking of the “Best Places to Live 2014,” jumping up from the no. 72 ranking it earned when the top small cities were ranked in 2012.

Money Magazine’s rankings (formerly CNN/Money Magazine “Top 100” and now Time/Money Magazine “Top 50”) alternate annual rankings of top smaller towns with top small cities. In 2010, West Hartford earned a no. 55 rank.

The write-up on West Hartford praised the town’s nightlife and entertainment, as well as recreational opportunities for all ages.

“Blue Back Square, named in tribute to West Hartford native Noah Webster’s blue-backed spelling books, draws people to the town center with its upscale shops and weekly concerts. Popular nightlife options include shows at the regional theater Playhouse on the Park and classical concerts with the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra. For daytime, there’s the Children’s Museum, which has a nature center and planetarium, five public pools, two public golf courses and several reservoirs where you can run, bike or picnic,” states the Time/Money Magazine article.

Top-rated Conard and Hall high schools, and the schools’ arts and music curriculum, were also factors in West Hartford’s high ranking.

The only other Connecticut town ranked in the top 50 was Fairfield, which was ranked just above West Hartford at no. 44. Bristol, Danbury, Greenwich, Hamden, Manchester, Norwalk, Stamford, and Stratford fit the size criteria but were not ranked.

Information about how Time/Money Magazine determines the rankings can be found by clicking here.

McKinney, TX, earned the no. 1 ranking.