Money Magazine's 2012 list of 100 best places to live, Castle Rock's named No. 17 and Highlands Ranch No. 21. Centennial comes in at No. 47.  Five Colorado cities are on Money Magazine's latest list of the 100 best places to live among America’s small cities.

I love the convenience of living in Douglas County.....so close to restaurants, shopping & great medical facilities as well as superb recreation centers & beautiful mountain views!

WINNER

Top 100 rank: 17
Population: 52,500
Compare Castle Rock to Top 10 Best Places

A far cry from its Wild West beginnings, Castle Rock has set out to become a major magnet for businesses. The chamber of commerce holds regular networking events; the Castle Rock Economic Gardeners helps small businesses. That effort has paid off: Forty-four businesses opened in the first quarter of 2012. The downsides? There's not much diversity; Denver is a 40-minute drive. Small tradeoffs, say locals, to live in a place with 255 days of sunshine and an up-close view of the Rockies. -- Lauren Gensler

WINNER

Top 100 rank: 21
Population: 95,900
Compare Highlands Ranch to Top 10 Best Places

For some of the best outdoor stuff Colorado has to offer, check out Highlands Ranch, a planned community 18 miles from Denver. Residents can take their pick of four state-of-the-art recreation centers, two golf courses, or two dozen parks. Or visit the 22,200-square-foot Highlands Ranch Mansion, once home to oilmen and cattle barons. The community is not, by and large, walkable, but that hasn't slowed population growth. A wealth of housing options helps; with prices ranging from $200,000 to over $1 million, newcomers can buy their first home or their dream home. --L.G.

1 Carmel, IN 80,100
2 McKinney, TX 136,100
3 Eden Prairie, MN 61,200
4 Newton, MA 84,700
5 Redmond, WA 55,200
6 Irvine, CA 213,600
7 Reston, VA 60,300
8 Columbia/Ellicott City, MD 100,700
9 Overland Park, KS 175,300
10 Chapel Hill, NC 59,000
11 Woodbury, MN 63,600
12 Fishers, IN 78,600
13 Allen, TX 83,700
14 Eagan, MN 64,700
15 Centreville, VA 72,900
16 Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ 53,200
17 Castle Rock, CO 52,500
18 South Jordan, UT 52,700
19 Lakeville, MN 56,700
20 Waldorf, MD 69,400
21 Highlands Ranch, CO 95,900
22 Maple Grove, MN 61,800
23 Gaithersburg, MD 63,400
24 Germantown, MD 88,000
25 Troy, MI 80,300
26 Franklin, NJ 62,600
27 Cupertino, CA 58,700
28 Greenwich, CT 62,100
29 Ashburn, VA 59,800
30 Mansfield, TX 59,000
31 Brookline, MA 59,100
32 Flower Mound, TX 69,300
33 Gilbert, AZ 216,400
34 Chino Hills, CA 74,600
35 Clarkstown, NY 85,800
36 Framingham, MA 68,800
37 Bellevue, NE 51,800
38 West Bloomfield, MI 64,600
39 O'Fallon, MO 80,400
40 Bellevue, WA 124,300
41 Diamond Bar, CA 57,200
42 Yorba Linda, CA 65,800
43 White Plains, NY 57,500
44 Arlington, VA 210,000
45 Abington, PA 55,700
46 Pflugerville, TX 56,700
47 Centennial, CO 107,900
48 Dale City, VA 68,300
49 Chandler, AZ 247,100
50 Amherst, NY 122,900
51 Sandy, UT 96,700
52 Franklin, TN 62,600
53 Hamden, CT 61,300
54 Naperville, IL 152,600
55 Cary, NC 145,900
56 Orem, UT 93,300
57 Olathe, KS 127,400
58 Ramapo, NY 130,000
59 Rio Rancho, NM 93,100
60 Boulder, CO 97,700
61 Bolingbrook, IL 71,800
62 Weston, FL 65,300
63 St. George, UT 74,800
64 Fairfield, CT 59,600
65 Rogers, AR 56,700
66 Henderson, NV 263,300
67 Riverview, FL 73,500
68 Broken Arrow, OK 92,900
69 Meridian, ID 79,100
70 Fort Collins, CO 147,000
71 Edmond, OK 83,300
72 West Hartford, CT 63,600
73 Florissant, MO 52,200
74 Bismarck, ND 62,400
75 Hamilton, NJ 88,200
76 St. Peters, MO 55,500
77 Moore, OK 59,400
78 Wheaton, IL 54,500
79 Shelby, MI 74,300
80 Fargo, ND 93,500
81 Cheyenne, WY 60,900
82 West Des Moines, IA 58,300
83 Wayne, NJ 54,700
84 Bensalem, PA 60,600
85 Macomb, MI 80,100
86 Weymouth Town, MA 54,000
87 Hendersonville, TN 51,900
88 Iowa City, IA 68,600
89 Ames, IA 58,000
90 Grand Forks, ND 53,100
91 Norman, OK 113,800
92 Nashua, NH 86,600
93 Millcreek, PA 52,900
94 West Chester, OH 61,300
95 Hillsboro, OR 93,600
96 Coral Springs, FL 125,800
97 Beaverton, OR 91,800
98 Waukesha, WI 71,700
99 Ann Arbor, MI 114,400
100 Peabody, MA 52,200

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