Alexandria Ranks Among 'Top 100 Best Places to Live' in the Nation, Livability Study Says

PHOTO: The King Street Trolley in Old Town Alexandria; photo by R Kennedy courtesy of Visit Alexandria

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The City of Alexandria ranks among the “Top 100 Best Places to Live” in the nation according to a new study by Livability out Monday.

So how did Alexandria rank? The City came in at #56 on the list, sandwiched between Salt Lake City and White Plains, N.Y.

One other Northern Virginia place also made the list: Arlington, which came in a few notches above Alexandria, at #49.

Other DC metro and Virginia places that made the list:

• Rockville: #17
• Charlottesville: #21
• Fredericksburg: #92
• Bethesda: #100

Livability ranked more than 2,000 cities with populations between 20,000 and 350,000 to come up with their third annual Top 100 Best Places to Live. The #1 ranked town was Rochester, Minn. The study said Rochester’s “diverse range of affordable housing” helped push it to the top spot.

The data-driven list is based on more than 40 data points. This year they collaborated with urbanist Richard Florida and assistant clinical professor Steven Pedigo from the Initiative for Creativity and Innovation in Cities at NYU School of Professional Studies, EMSI and a board of advisors in shaping their methodology on how they rank the cities and counties.

Here’s what Livability had to say about Alexandria:

An excellent amenities package, highly engaged residents and great schools help make Alexandria one of the best places to live. This suburb of Washington D.C. provides a quaint escape from the high-powered wheeling and dealing found in the nation’s capital thanks to well-preserved historic districts, which include unique restaurants and shops. It’s been named one of the Best Cities for Liberals. Home to a Northern Virginia Community College campus, Alexandria includes an assortment of parks and walking trails, some of which overlook the Potomac River.

It’s possible the City will rank higher in coming years; among Arlington’s attributes noted by Livability? “Many Arlington residents work for the federal government, which has several agencies and departments in the city, including the Department of Defense, Drug Enforcement Agency [sic] and the Transportation Security Administration.”

The TSA recently announced it’s moving out of Arlington, to Alexandria.

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