Ellicott City No. 4 On Money's 50 Top Places To Live

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Ellicott City is No. 4 among Money magazine's 50 Best Places to Live in 2018. Its diversity, school graduation rates and parks contributed to its ranking, according to Money, which compiled the list in conjunction with realtor.com.

The list is intended to identify the best places to live in terms of economic growth, affordability and quality of life, according the publication.

The only other Maryland spot on the list was Bethesda, which came in at No. 20.

"Despite recurring run-ins with heavy floods — most recently this past spring — Ellicott City has made frequent appearances in Money's Best Places to Live rankings," the magazine said. "One factor is its school system...as well as great socioeconomic and racial diversity."

Cost of living, job growth, public education, housing, crime, amenities, income and diversity were evaluated as Money whittled down its list, and reporters from the magazine were tasked with researching each location and interviewing residents.

In the publication, Ellicott City was celebrated for its parks (particularly Centennial and Patapsco),, movie theaters, community centers and mix of shops downtown.

It was also recognized for its history — it was founded in 1772 — and how that has translated into the present day of the town.

Ellicott City contains the oldest railroad passenger station still in existence in the U.S., which has been converted into a museum.

It was also home to the first school for black children in Howard County, the Ellicott City Colored School, which opened in 1880.

The one-room schoolhouse has been turned into a museum at the top of Main Street, along Frederick Road, that houses exhibits on African-American heritage and genealogy in the area.

Outside is a marker on the Maryland Civil War Trails about an African-American Civil War hero.

To come up with the 50 best places to live, Money only considered areas with at least 50,000 residents. Once it removed towns with double the national crime risk, a lack of ethnic diversity or less than 85 percent of its state's median household income, Money whittled the contenders down to 583 cities.

Here are the top 10 best places to live, according to Money:

1. Frisco, Texas
2. Ashburn, Virginia
3. Carmel, Indiana
4. Ellicott City, Maryland
5. Cary, North Carolina
6. Franklin, Tennessee
7. Dublin, California
8. Highlands Ranch, Colorado
9. Sammamish, Washington
10. Woodbury, Minnesota

Do you agree with Ellicott City's spot on the list? Tell us in the comments!

See all of Money's Best Places to Live in 2018-.

With reporting from Patch editors Tim Darnell and Skip Wood.

Photos by Elizabeth Janney.