Allen placed 19th of 345 U.S. cities in a new ranking of the best places to live an uncluttered life, and fourth in the nation in the study's safety and environment category.
The Uncluttered Living Index, released Sept. 15 by StorageCafe, a website that lists self-storage units, scored each city on 20 measures, from home sizes and housing costs to commute times, parks, health and crime. Allen's neighbor Plano took the top spot overall.
Safety and income
Allen's strongest showing came in environment and safety, a category built on crime rates, air quality and water quality. Only three cities scored better. McKinney, which ranked just behind Allen overall at 22nd, placed third in that category.
The study's write-up named Allen, along with Sugar Land near Houston, for money and space. It said the two posted the top household incomes in its top 20, above $130,000, along with the largest homes. It described both as "affluent, low-crime suburbs." The study's data puts Allen's median household income at $130,901, and its average household at 2.95 people.
The trade-offs
Housing costs are high, too. The study's data lists a typical Allen house price of $464,100 and an average apartment rent of $1,932. Allen ranked 172nd in the study's "room to breathe at home" category, which weighs space against housing costs and self-storage supply. It counts about 4.6 square feet of self-storage space per resident.
