Best Washington suburbs for families

Ranked on a families weighting: schools at 30%, amenities within two miles at 20%, and the four poll questions about children, safety and sidewalks at 20%. Cost still counts, at 15%. The full weighting is shown at the bottom, and it is not the same as the overall score.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed

Arlington$895k median · 26.2 min commute

Schools B−Amenities A+Residents inactive

Family score
overall 73 B

Sterling$526k median · 24.2 min commute

Schools A−Amenities B+Residents inactive

Family score
overall 69 B−

Washington$737k median · 30.0 min commute

Schools B−Amenities A+Residents inactive

Family score
overall 67 C+

Images of Silver Spring, Maryland include the AFI Silver Theater, Veteran's Plaza and the civic building, the downtown area from the Metro station with the Silv

Silver Spring$643k median · 34.0 min commute

Schools B+Amenities A+Residents inactive

Family score
overall 65 C+

Leesburg$668k median · 25.3 min commute

Schools A−Amenities A−Residents inactive

Family score
overall 72 B−

Ashburn$699k median · 27.4 min commute

Schools B+Amenities B+Residents inactive

Family score
overall 71 B−

Images of Bethesda, Maryland, including the Bethesda Meetinghouse, Madonna of the Trail statue, NIH campus, downtown area, Bethesda Avenue, Bethesda Theater, an

Bethesda$1.17M median · 27.7 min commute

Schools B−Amenities AResidents inactive

Family score
overall 73 B

West Falls Church$707k median · 28.7 min commute

Schools BAmenities AResidents inactive

Family score
overall 69 B−

North Bethesda$732k median · 29.6 min commute

Schools BAmenities AResidents inactive

Family score
overall 69 B−

Reston$642k median · 26.0 min commute

Schools BAmenities A−Residents inactive

Family score
overall 70 B−

This list's weighting

Schools 30%Amenities 20%Resident poll (Q2, Q5, Q6, Q8) 20%Cost of living 15%Housing 10%Commute 5%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Washington lists

Most affordable Washington suburbs Best Washington suburbs for schools Shortest commutes to Downtown Washington Most walkable Washington suburbs Best Washington suburbs for young professionals How we score Washington suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Arlington (Theodore Christopher · CC0); Sterling (Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC0); Washington (Ralf Roletschek (talk) - Infos über Fahrräder auf fahrradmonteur.de Wikis in der · CC BY-SA 3.0); Silver Spring (Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0); Leesburg (Wallygva · CC BY-SA 3.0); Ashburn (Vahurzpu · CC BY-SA 4.0); Bethesda (westroopnerd · CC BY-SA 4.0); West Falls Church (Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0).