https://money.com/best-places-to-live/

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/columbia-howard-md/#report-card

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/arlington-arlington-va/#rankings

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/rockville-montgomery-md/#rankings

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/alexandria-va/

Whats up everyone

Money.com just came out with their top 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S. | 2022—2023 and Maryland and Virginia took 4 of the 50 spots. So today we’re going to see how they are ranked and why it may be a good decision to consider moving to one of these places! 

So lets dive right in

In their annual ranking of the top places to live, they look at the things that matter most to people: economic opportunities, quality of life, diversity, and where the best futures lie.

To be a contender, the place had to have  

a population of at least 20,000 people — and no population maximum

• Had a population that was at least 85% as racially diverse as the state
• Had a median household income of at least 85% of the state median

This criteria generated a batch of 1,370 places to rank. They then gathered approximately 350 pieces of data on each place, totaling more than 480,000 data points.

They have 9 primary ranking factors:

Cost of living- how affordable it is to live there

Diversity

Economic opportunity

Education

Fun and amenities

Health and safety

Housing market

Income and personal finance

Quality of life

After scoring the data, they were left with a short list of about 125 places

From there, they vetted the top contenders, went through pros and cons and came up w the top 50!

And 4 of them are in MD and VA! So lets see what they are!

The first city to make the list is from Maryland! Columbia MD came in at #6 out of 50! 

Columbia is located in Howard county with a population of approximately 105,987 people.  The closest big city to it is Baltimore. According to money. Com, the Median Household Income is $119,845. The Median Home Price is $395,602 and the Unemployment Rate is 3.4%.

Columbia was unveiled in 1967 by developer James W. Rouse, who set out to plan a community built on the principle that neighborhoods should be places with a capacity for “joyous living.’ 

Columbia is also ranked #5 by niche.com for best city to raise a family in America #7 by niche for best city to live in America and #8 by niche for best city to buy a house in America. 

money.com  also calls  Colombia a nature-lover’s dream with its many trails, parks and lakes, even offering plots of land that residents can rent to create their own gardens. 

And As for arts and culture in Columbia, the options are many, from concerts at the famous (Frank Gehry-designed) Merriweather Post Pavilion to the National Cryptologic Museum.

Ad Columbia was just ranked the #1 best U.S. city to raise a family if you make over $100,000 a year by a new rocket mortgage report published on CNBC’s website https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/rocket-mortgage-best-us-cities-raise-family.html?fbclid=IwAR38cc3jeffzNW-Bd3DKQ33xygUM3jG_Io7otM4E4-xDiqin7h-9cZxl–E

The next place is in VA! 

Arlington VA comes in at #15!

Arlington is located in Arlington county with a population of approximately 231,028 people. The closest big city to it is
Washington DC. According to money. Com, the Median Household Income is $128,496. The Median Home Price is $677,588 and the Unemployment Rate is 2.1%.

Arlington is located right across the river from Washington, D.C. and is part of the DMV. It’s home to the Pentagon, Reagan National Airport and Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington is particularly well-known for its green space, including 24 acres at Bon Air Park, where more than 120 types of roses grow among playgrounds and picnic tables.

Arlington  is also ranked #3 by niche.com for best city to raise a family in America #4 by niche for best city to live in America and #5 by niche for Best Cities for Young Professionals in America

Speaking of young professionals, Amazon is in the process of building its second headquarters (known as HQ2) in Arlington.

Money.com also notes that in Arlington a quarter of residents were born abroad and a third speak a foreign language at home.

Arlington is a very health-conscious area, and has a reputation as the fittest city in the U.S.

And fun fact-  Arlington was been ranked one of America’s Healthiest Communities by U.S. News & World Report. 

Next up is back to MD

Rockville MD came in at #20!

Rockville is located in Montgomery  county and is part of the DMV. It has a  population of approximately 67,406 people. The closest big city to it is Washington DC. 

According to money. Com, the Median Household Income is $116,496. The Median Home Price is $491,277 and the Unemployment Rate is 3.7%.

Rockville, a diverse city according to Money’s data, is business friendly and home to some of the most prominent biomedical and technology companies that call here home. 

It’s an easy commute into DC being only 15 miles from the border. 

There is tons to do in Rockville town center including an ice skating rink, movie theater and lots of restaurants and shops. You also have a metro stop right there that will take you into DC or over to VA.

You are also near beautiful parks including cabin John regional park, lake needwood and my favorite, Great Falls and the billygoat trail. 

Rockville   is also ranked #5 by niche.com for Best Suburbs for Young Professionals in Maryland,  #9 by niche for Best Places to Live in Maryland and #9 by niche for Best Suburbs to Live in Maryland

I’m a bit biased towards Rockville as I live here and I’ve done a lot of videos on it so def check them out.

And lastly, Alexandria VA comes in at 26!

Alexandria is located in Alexandria county with a population of approximately 153,052 people.  The closest big city to it is Washington DC. According to money. Com, the Median Household Income is $114,693. The Median Home Price is $586,036 and the Unemployment Rate is 2.4%.

Alexandria is located Less than a half hour from Washington, D.C. and is also part of the DMV. In Alexandria there are a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. It definitely has a more urban feel to it.

Alexandria, VA is nationally recognized for its rich history and beautifully preserved 18th- and 19th-century architecture. 

Alexandria  is also ranked #11 by niche.com for Best Cities for Young Professionals in America #23 

 by niche for Healthiest Cities in America and  #26 by niche for Best Cities to Live in America.

Alexandria  was also Voted one of Travel + Leisure’s Best Cities in the U.S. 2022 and a Condé Nast Traveler Top 5 Best Small City in the U.S. 2022,.

One of my favorite places in Alexandria is Old Town. Over in Old Town, there are more than 200 restaurants and shops, all accessible via the free King Street trolley (it runs every 15 minutes). Its super cute and really fun.

So, not bad that 4 of the 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S. | 2022—2023 by money.com are in MD and VA. If you want more info on any of these places or any place in MD, VA or DC, just send us an email or comment below.

And if you’re thinking of moving to md , dc or va and you would like our help, def send us an email or click on the calendy link in the description and we’ll set up a zoom and get you started.