Washington–Arlington–Alexandria

60 cities and suburbs across Washington, each scored out of 100 on the same national scales. The metro's median home is $579,900 and its mean commute 32.4 min. Bethesda scores highest overall at 73. Sterling leads on schools, Silver Spring leads on cost of living.

Places

Median score

Poll responses

Ralf Roletschek (talk) - Infos über Fahrräder auf fahrradmonteur.de Wikis in der · CC BY-SA 3.0

Washington →

Theodore Christopher · CC0

Arlington →

Ben Schumin · CC BY-SA 3.0

Alexandria →

Coverage

60 places
in Washington

One of 50 metros graded so far, on the same national scales.

10 mi

20 mi

30 mi

Downtown Washington

Downtown Arlington

Bethesda

McLean

Leesburg

Ashburn

Reston

South Riding

Burke

Potomac

Brambleton

Centreville

Oakton

Rockville

Silver Spring

Alexandria

Gaithersburg

Clarksburg

Wheaton

Germantown

Frederick

Bailey's Crossroads

Ballenger Creek

Lake Ridge

Montclair

Dale City

Manassas

Fairland

Fredericksburg

Bowie

Cherry Hill

Waldorf

Clinton

Dot size = overall scoreA B C D Positions plotted from place centroids · rings measured from Downtown Washington

Every suburb of Washington, ranked

#	Place	Score	Hous	Scho	Cost	Comm	Amen	Empl	Resi
1	Bethesda	73 B	B−	B−	B−	C+	A	B+	—
2	Arlington	73 B	C−	B−	B	B−	A+	B	—
3	McLean	72 B−	A	C+	C	C	B−	B+	—
4	Leesburg	72 B−	C−	A−	C	B−	A−	B	—
5	Ashburn	71 B−	C	B+	B−	B−	B+	B−	—
6	Reston	70 B−	C−	B	B−	B−	A−	B−	—
7	Sterling	69 B−	D+	A−	B−	C+	B+	C+	—
8	North Bethesda	69 B−	C−	B	B−	C+	A	B−	—
9	West Falls Church	69 B−	C−	B	B	C	A	C+	—
10	Herndon	68 B−	C−	B	B−	C	A	B−	—
11	South Riding	68 B−	B	B	C	D	B−	B+	—
12	North Potomac	68 B−	B−	B	C+	D+	B	B−	—
13	Fairfax	67 C+	C	—	C	C+	A	B−	—
14	Burke	67 C+	B	C+	C+	C−	B	C+	—
15	Chantilly	67 C+	C	B−	C+	C−	B+	B	—
16	Tysons	67 C+	D	B−	B−	C+	A−	C+	—
17	Washington	67 C+	D	B−	A−	C	A+	C−	—
18	Potomac	67 C+	B+	B−	C−	C−	C−	B	—
19	West Springfield	66 C+	C+	C+	B−	D+	B−	B+	—
20	Olney	66 C+	B−	B	C+	D+	C+	B−	—
21	Brambleton	66 C+	B	B	C+	D−	C−	A	—
22	McNair	66 C+	D	B−	C+	B	B	B	—
23	Centreville	66 C+	C−	B−	B−	C−	A−	C+	—
24	Oakton	66 C+	C+	C+	B	C	D+	B+	—
25	Rockville	65 C+	D+	B	B−	C−	B+	C+	—
26	Silver Spring	65 C+	D−	B+	A−	D	A+	C	—
27	Annandale	65 C+	D+	B−	B	C	B+	C−	—
28	Fair Oaks	65 C+	D	C+	B−	C+	A−	C+	—
29	Alexandria	64 C+	D+	D+	B−	C+	A+	B−	—
30	Gaithersburg	64 C+	D−	B+	B	C−	A−	C	—
31	Clarksburg	64 C+	C+	B	C+	F	C+	B	—
32	Wheaton	62 C	D+	B+	B−	D	A−	D	—
33	Germantown	62 C	D	B	B−	D	B+	C−	—
34	Frederick	62 C	F	B	B+	D+	B+	C−	—
35	Bailey's Crossroads	61 C	F	B−	B+	C	A+	F	—
36	Ballenger Creek	61 C	D−	B	B	D−	B	C+	—
37	Springfield	61 C	C−	B−	C−	D+	A−	D	—
38	Linton Hall	60 C	B−	C	B	F	C−	B	—
39	Aspen Hill	59 C	D+	B	B	D−	C+	D	—
40	Lake Ridge	59 C	D+	C+	B+	F	B−	C+	—
41	Montclair	58 C	C+	C+	B	F	C	C−	—
42	Montgomery Village	57 C−	F	B+	B+	D−	C+	D	—
43	Dale City	57 C−	D	B−	B−	F	B+	C−	—
44	Manassas	56 C−	D	D	B	F	A−	C	—
45	Fairland	55 C−	F	B+	B+	F	C	D+	—
46	Woodbridge	55 C−	D−	C+	B−	F	A	D	—
47	Fredericksburg	54 C−	F	D	B+	D+	A−	D+	—
48	Bowie	53 C−	C−	F	B−	D−	C+	C+	—
49	Cherry Hill	52 D+	D−	C+	B−	F	B−	C−	—
50	Laurel	51 D+	F	F	B	D	B+	C	—
51	Waldorf	49 D+	D	C−	B−	F	C+	C−	—
52	Camp Springs	49 D+	D	D−	C+	F	B−	C−	—
53	College Park	49 D+	F	D−	B−	C+	B+	F	—
54	Chillum	47 D	F	D−	B+	F	A	F	—
55	Fort Washington	46 D	C	F	C+	F	D	C−	—
56	South Laurel	46 D	F	F	B+	F	C	D	—
57	Greenbelt	45 D	F	F	B+	D−	C+	D	—
58	Clinton	45 D	D+	F	B−	F	D	C−	—
59	Suitland	42 D−	F	D−	B	F	C+	F	—
60	Landover	41 D−	F	D−	B−	F	C	F	—

— for Residents: fewer than 8 poll responses, so the category is not yet counted. Those places' overall scores are computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. 60 of 60 are currently below the threshold.

Six Washington lists

Best Washington suburbs for families Most affordable Washington suburbs Best Washington suburbs for schools Shortest commutes to Downtown Washington Most walkable Washington suburbs Best Washington suburbs for young professionals

8 head-to-heads

Washington vs Chillum Arlington vs Bailey's Crossroads Alexandria vs Bailey's Crossroads Germantown vs Montgomery Village Frederick vs Ballenger Creek Waldorf vs Fort Washington Silver Spring vs Chillum Centreville vs Chantilly

5 guides

What "median home value" hides when you compare suburbsWhat a school proficiency percentile actually measuresWhat a two-mile amenity count can and cannot seeReading an effective property tax rateWhat the scores deliberately do not coverAll guides →