Sammamish named ‘Friendliest Town in America’

Sammamish, the popular Eastside community known for quiet neighborhoods and terrific high school athletes, has been named the “Friendliest Town in America” by Forbes and Nextdoor.com, a social network.

A total of 500 towns with populations between 5,500 and 150,000 were included in the study and ranked on the percentage of owner-occupied homes, crime rate, charitable giving, and percentage of college graduates.

According to the study, home ownership can increase neighborhood stability and college-educated people have been found to display more civic engagement.

The following towns emerged as the top six friendliest towns in the nation, according to the study:

1. Sammamish: The Seattle suburb where nearly 90 percent of households own their own homes.

2. Orinda, Calif.: Just outside of Oakland, this suburb boasts a 92 percent of owner-occupied units.

3. Fishers, Ind.: This town has a very low crime rate and year-round community activities.

4. Seal Beach, Calif.: An “Orange County seaside enclave” in which about 75 percent of residents own their homes.

5. Westerville, Ohio: A Columbus suburb boasts about 40 parks, and a very low crime rate.

6. Frisco, Texas: Fast-growing suburb in which the population has grown from 40,000 to 120,000 since 2000 and 80 percent of its residents own their homes.