Cincy's list of the Top 50 communities this year is anything but static. Except No. 1, which is Madeira.

Last year, Cincy proclaimed the "Rating the Burbs" project "the biggest ever." This year, for the sixth annual "Ratings," Cincy went further.

Combing census data, crime statistics, real estate reports and school facts and figures, Cincy evaluated 140 communities, including more than 69 school districts, to present the most comprehensive look at life in the villages, cities and townships in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Dearborn County, Indiana.

The result is plenty of changes.

For weeks, we gathered, crunched and weighted the data with surprising results.

Amberley Village is the big gainer, leaping 34 spots from 2011's rankings to No. 7.

Evendale moved up 29 spots to No. 6. Wilder, Ky., moved to No. 18 from No. 39.

Amberley has large lots for homes and lots of green space, "which has created a close-knit community, very quaint," Scot Lahrmer, village manager, says.

"It is a very sought-after community from the standpoint of raising a family. The community itself offers a very high level of services." Lahrmer, who spent much of his career as Mason city manager, likes the small-town atmosphere of the 3½-square-mile village. Police officers serve as firefighters, he says, with Amberley Village being one of just two such arrangements in Ohio .

"It gives us a full complement of personnel to respond to fire emergencies. It's those types of unique features that make us very attractive to homeowners," he says.

On the flip side, two Warren County communities dropped significantly. Union Township, at No. 2 last year, remained in the Top 50 but barely: It ranks 49th. Wayne Township dropped from 16th to 47th. Park Hills, Ky., fell 20 spots to 46th.

Thirteen communities from our Top 50 in 2011 fell out this year, making room for 13 new ones. All of this yo-yoing can be brought on by a dip in home-sale prices, a single homicide (depending on population) or schools that increase or decrease in state academic ratings.

And we welcome Indiana communities this year. We added Dearborn County to the rankings, and Greendale and Hidden Valley Lake debut at Nos. 23 and 24, respectively.

As far as the Top 10 goes, Mason joins Evendale and Amberley Village as the new entries, jumping to No. 10 from No. 19 last year.

Madeira again is the clear winner for a third year in a row. Given all of the movement in the Top 50—and the Top 10—this three-peat has nothing to do with Cincy's formula; otherwise, the whole list would stay the same. Madeira scores well in all categories. For instance, with median home prices up in only about 10% of the region's neighborhoods from 2006 to 2011, Madeira's home prices were down less than 3%, keeping it apace with the gainers.

The stable housing prices combine with low crime and a Top 5 city school system.

Madeira City Manager Tom Moeller, , credits a close city-school relationship for much of the rank. He and school Superintendent Stephen Kramer meet regularly. "We have an ongoing significant relationship with Madeira schools," he says. For instance, "they allow us to use their (indoor) facilities, and we provide them with field space and maintenance for outdoor activities. "We're sharing taxpayer resources."

Some communities ask how they can get their ratings higher. The fact is they have little control individually on how they will fare. The numbers are collective, meaning that Cincy looks at all home sales in an area or the average of all commute times to work, for example.

So, basically, if communities ensure that their neighborhoods are safe, their schools top-notch and their housing attractive to buy, they have a shot at moving up. - 

HOW DID WE DO IT?

Cincy starts with the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 decennial census for population figures in the Cincinnati metro area in its quest to rate the burbs.

The Census provides data on 270 villages, cities, towns, townships, Census County Divisions and Census Designated Places in Boone, Butler, Campbell, Clermont, Dearborn, Hamilton, Kenton and Warren counties.

First, we eliminated the Census County Divisions and Census Designated Places, except for Hidden Valley Lake in Indiana.

Those designations might be a combination of a city and unincorporated areas, for instance, and some data, such as crime, cannot be obtained on that level.

Next, communities with population less than 1,000 are cut. The smallest of those in Southwest Ohio were the villages of Chilo and Jacksonburg at 63 residents; in Northern Kentucky, California city was the smallest at 90 residents, while Caesar Creek Township, Ind., was the smallest in Dearborn County at 238 residents.

APPLES TO APPLES

Even though Hidden Valley Lake is a Census Designated Place, it's also its own neighborhood, and Cincy was able to collect comparable data so it's included.

Cincy attempted to collect statistics on Bright, Ind., which also is a Census Designated Place.

Because all the data was not available, it is not included. Ditto on Indiana townships.

That still means a list of almost 140 cities, towns, villages and townships.

Cincy collects 2010 crime statistics from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the most recent as of deadline for this project, which lists four categories of property crime and four categories of violent crime.

Reporting to the FBI is not mandatory.

For areas not contained in FBI statistics, we checked community and state websites, and contacted county sheriffs' offices and township, city and village police departments for a breakdown of the eight crime categories.

If crime stats for a community were not available, it was eliminated from the project.

Crimes are weighted in our rankings — with murder and robbery given more heft than property crimes, for instance. Through the years, we have heard from police departments who say large numbers of thefts could be the result of having shopping centers, big-box retailers, or sites that draw large numbers of people — and, therefore, more thefts than average. This year, we gave less weight to thefts for a better comparison.

Home-sales data came from the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, the Northern Kentucky Association of Realtors and the Southeastern Indiana Board of Realtors. Cincy examined the total number of sales and compared the median prices in 2011 with the medians in 2006. After the 2008 housing bust, prices began to fall and are down in 90% of the areas from 2006 figures. Communities with price gains or stable prices, though, had a good shot at leaping in this year's ratings.

Property tax data were collected from county auditors, treasurers and property valuation administrators to compare taxes for a $100,000 house.

Owner-occupied housing and average commute-to-work times were updated through the Census' American Community Survey, the latest information available.

Cincy added the three school districts in Dearborn County to the education rankings, bringing the total to 69 districts. We checked state report cards, state education department websites and school websites, and consulted the school districts. Various categories were weighted to score each district, and that provided the Top 35 districts.

WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU

Sure, even with thousands of statistics, no ratings system is perfect. Let us hear from you. Email or call Editor Dianne Gebhardt-French, (513) 297-6209 or

2 Wyoming

A community art show, a new senior room opening in the Recreation Center, summer camp and gorgeous homes on tree-lined streets — that's Wyoming. Add to the mix great schools (a small district with five buildings meeting all 26 of the state's 26 standards) and a slip of less than five percent in median home sales in the housing tsunami of the last five years, and it's one attractive community. Dive In Movie Night at the Family Aquatic Center and swim lessons through the summer spell F-A-M-I-L-Y.

You can't see some of the grand million-dollar homes set back behind hedges and trees from Indian Hill's winding roads, but this village is home to many of Cincinnati's most prestigious families. Committed to its rural character, the Green Areas Advisory Committee includes subcommittees for riding trails and stewardship. Indian Hill schools are rated by the state as Excellent with Distinction. The high school Mock Trial Team won the state championship for the third time in four years — not surprising at a school offering 20 Advanced Placement classes with a 91 percent success rate.

4 Terrace Park

Tiny Terrace Park located in a bend in the Little Miami River is home to 2,251 people within its 1.3 square miles. More than 94 percent of the homes are owner-occupied with a median sale price of just under $400,000. Not surprisingly, its highly valued trees in the village right-of-way are part of a comprehensive forestry management program and the country club features an 18-hole golf course. The schools rank No. 2 in our data-crunching and the safety rating is a resounding No. 1.

This is the third consecutive year that Clearcreek Township has been rated one of the top communities. One of the larger communities with more than 30,000 residents, it offers great schools. Its always-high safety rating was enhanced when its local police department received national accreditation in 2010. The township spans 44.7 square miles and within those square miles are three fire stations.

It began as a farm town south of the Ohio River and grew into a residential town with a population of 7,489. It's a quick commute to downtown Cincinnati and convenient to the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The town has an elementary school and a high school, the Villa Madonna Academy, from which the town got its name. With plenty of recreational activities and outstanding schools, there is much to enjoy.

Talk about entertainment. The Hamilton County community of Anderson Township has a boatload. Try Riverbend, River Downs and historic Coney Island Amusement Park. With an average commute of 23 minutes, this township of more than 43,000 provides top schools (Forest Hills = Excellent With Distinction) and more than 16 miles of stunning riverfront along both the Little Miami and the mighty Ohio. It's pegged one of Greater Cincinnati's "most livable" neighborhoods.

Schools that are rated by the State of Ohio as Excellent with Distinction are just part of the winning equation for this suburb with small-town character located midway between Dayton and Cincinnati. Its Christmas festival is a regional favorite, and Springboro has summer concerts and theater under the stars. Median home prices have slipped over five years but almost 87 percent are owner-occupied. Great health care, shopping and retail are all part of the mix.

15 Newtown

EDUCATION PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS

While education and other statistics can't be clearly parsed down for Cincinnati city neighborhoods, home sales provide an interesting picture.

Thanks to the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, Cincy sifted through dozens of home-sale numbers in Southwest Ohio communities and city neighborhoods.

Last year, Cincy took a look at the 11 Cincinnati neighborhoods with median home-sale prices of $100,000 or more. Five of those saw home prices rise in 2010 from 2005. Given the severity of the 2008 housing crisis, Cincy decided to take another five-year look at median prices this year. Of the 11, only East End fell off the $100,000-plus list, and no new neighborhoods joined it.

Three of the five neighborhoods that experienced gains in 2005-10 were up again for 2006-11: Columbia-Tusculum (median price of $230,000 in '11, up 7% from '06); Mount Lookout ($328,200, up 3%); and Oakley ($194,500, up 3%). The other two: Hyde Park ($286,850) was down just 1%, while East End ($14,300) fell 94%, but it had just 10 sales and was a statistical anomaly.

We did not put a limit on the number of sales, so four of the 11 neighborhoods had 15 or fewer sales, which can cause a bigger swing in prices, depending on the size of the neighborhood. However, they still represent the highest-priced areas in the city.

Walnut Hills had the best gain, with a median price of $144,450 in 2011, up 33% from 2006.

Other six-figure neighborhoods in 2011: Mount Adams at $363,750, down 30% from 2006; Paddock Hills, $161,000, up 22%; Pleasant Ridge, $130,000, down 13%; Mount Washington, $121,750, down 15%; and Clifton, $125,000, down 22%.

Comparing 2011 with 2010, Paddock Hills and Walnut Hills were the only two neighborhoods with double-digit gains, climbing 45% and 36%, respectively.

The city's 52 neighborhoods don't fit the definition of the communities included in the Rating the Burbs report because they don't have their own police departments, their own governments or their own school systems. They are covered by the same entities.

From Sayler Park to Mount Washington, from California to Hartwell, and every neighborhood in between, those areas within the city limits offer diversity and a way of life that residents treasure.

Strong identities, close neighbors and even newsletters and community councils make these neighborhoods unique.

Highest Priced Homes In The Burbs

Source: Cincinnati Board of Realtors