As conscientious readers probably realize, ratings based on census data can be somewhat questionable.
Nonetheless the results can be fun to ponder.
On that note we present the latest ranking in which Montgomery County shines—Movato’s list of The 10 Best D.C. Suburbs, which was published last week.
The real estate website ranked Chevy Chase, Maryland, as No. 1, Kensington as No. 2 and Bethesda as No. 3.
The county’s neighbors to the south, Arlington and McLean, came in at Nos. 4 and 5, followed by Rockville at No. 6, and then Potomac and Reston tying for seventh place. Ashburn and Tysons Corner in Virginia rounded out the list at Nos. 9 and 10.
Movato used census data as well as information from the livability website AreaVibes and local business listings to rank 32 D.C. suburbs based on the following criteria:
- Amenities per capita
- Standard of living (cost of living, median home price, median rent, median household income, and high school graduation rate)
- Total crimes per 100,000 residents
- Unemployment rate
- Commute time
The website found that Chevy Chase had a total of 2,199 amenities, a high school graduation rate of 97 percent, median household income of $250,001, median home value of $1 million and an unemployment rate of 2.6 percent.
About Bethesda, the website wrote that “downtown Bethesda alone is brimming with nearly 200 restaurants, 20 art galleries, two theaters and some of the best shopping outside of D.C.” It also found the average commute time for Bethesda residents is 29 minutes and the median household income is $143,245.
