WASHINGTON, D.C.
Population: 646,449
Unemployment: 4.9 percent
Fortune 500 Companies: 2
Chock full of seats of power, institutes of high learning and awesome bars (we have our priorities), you’re not only surrounded by power when you’re in Washington but it’s just a straight shot up the I-195 to Baltimore (40 miles), Philadelphia (139 miles) and New York (224 miles). When ranking the top 50 small cities in the U.S., Money Magazine named four (North Laurel, Md., Damascus, Md., Urbana, Md., Vienna, Va.) that are part of the Greater D.C. region.