A new Bizjournals analysis of 140 micropolitan areas identifies Wayne County, Ohio as one of America's "dreamtowns" - the small towns that offer the best quality of life without metropolitan hassles. The Wooster micropolitan area was Ohio's highest ranking dreamtown.

Surveys conducted over the past decade repeatedly show that  residents of big cities and inner-ring suburbs would prefer to live on the suburban fringe or in small-town America. The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that 235,000 families moved from metropolitan areas to nonmetropolitan regions in 2006 an average of 640 families per day.

The study was inspired by this heavy public interest in small-town life. Its aim was to identify communities that would be most attractive to people considering such a move. The highest scores went to well-rounded places with light traffic, healthy economies, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks, strong educational systems, and easy access to big-city attractions.

In its study, Bizjournals ranked the Wooster micropolitan area 26th among 140 micropolitan areas that had 2006 populations of 65,000 or more (encompassing the central community and surrounding area). Statistics cited in the study cover all portions of micros, not just their central communities. Bizjournals compared 140 micropolitan areas in 20 statistical categories, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For the full story on the Bizjournal rankings, visit here .