Rockville ranked in the top 5% of small cities in the U.S., and the best small city in Maryland, according to a WalletHub comparison published Tuesday.
To calculate which city was best to live in, WalletHub compared 1,318 cities with population sizes between 25,000 and 100,00, based on 45 metrics across five topics: affordability; economic health; education and health; quality of life; and safety, according to its methodology.
While Carmel, Indiana, was ranked as the best small city to live in, multiple cities in Montgomery County made it to the top of the list. In Maryland, Rockville beat out cities including Annapolis and Frederick, according to WalletHub.
Rockville landed in the 95th percentile with a total score of 66.13. It ranked 673 in affordability, 287 in economic health, 35 out of education and health, 85 in quality of life and 104 in safety.
Nine other areas in Montgomery County made it to the list, including Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Olney and Silver Spring. Earlier this year, Silver Spring was named No. 1 best place to live for families’ in U.S. by Fortune Magazine.
WalletHub ranked Bethesda in the top 6% of small cities, while Gaithersburg and Olney ranked in the top 18% and 19%, respectively.
Olney also came in at number 91 for most affordable cities in the U.S. making it the most affordable in Montgomery County, followed by Germantown at 329. Bethesda and Potomac had the best education and health ranking at 19 and 18 respectively. All the cities in Montgomery County ranked at 104 for safety.
Here’s where the rest of the cities in Montgomery County ranked:
