Chevy Chase Ranks on America's Best 'Burbs List

CHEVY CHASE, MD — What’s not to love about Chevy Chase?

A community full of well-educated, well-paid residents living in beautiful homes and sending their kids to great schools. Perfect, right?

Almost.

Zippia, the career advice website, recently released its rankings of the 10 Best Suburbs in America. From more than 7,000 suburban areas across the country -- and based on criteria like low employment rates, great home values, and high average household incomes – the site ranked Chevy Chase second overall.

Surprisingly, West University Place in the Houston, TX, metro came in at No. 1 on the list. It is one of the most educated and well-paid communities in the country, where 88 percent of residents in this suburb have a college degree—the fourth highest in the nation.

Here’s what the website has to say about Chevy Chase:

“Remember that one time, oh, about one second ago, when we said it was hard but not impossible to beat such a high median income? Well say hello to the place that can top it—and top them all in that department. Chevy Chase, Maryland is the suburb with the highest median income—$250,000.

As if that wasn’t enough reason to pack your bags and head to this D.C. suburb, it also has the highest percentage of college grads (93%) and the highest median home price (a cool million) in the country.

Of course, you’ve got to be able to afford it there—but if you’re a politician commuting to our nation’s capital, Chevy Chase is your best ‘burb.”

SEE ALSO:

• Montgomery Cities Among America's 500 Richest Zip Codes
• Bethesda, Silver Spring in 'Out of Touch' Bubble
• Eight Montgomery Communities Named to Best Small Cities List

Rounding out the top 5 ‘burbs are Piedmont, CA, in the Oakland area at No. 3; Kenilworth, IL, outside Chicago at No. 4; and Hoboken, NJ, at No. 5, just across the river from New York City.

Ranking Criteria

The best ‘burbs in America are full of the things that people like most:

• Unemployment rate
• Median household incomes
• Population density (lots of things to do)
• Home values
• Percent of People with a college education

The site used the 2010-2014 American Community Survey to research each suburb. The analysis was limited to areas with more than 2,000 people, which left 7,200 suburbs to evaluate in America.