The 100 Best Places To Live In Maryland Ranked

North Bethesda is the best place to live in Maryland, according to a new set of rankings released by Niche. North Bethesda, along with 42 other Maryland communities, received an A+ grade on Niche’s rankings of best places to live for 2018.

The rankings of best places to live awarded grades from A+ to D- to communities across the state. The top 100 communities in Maryland received grades of between A+ and A-, with 43 communities getting an A+ grade, 55 communities receiving an A grade and two communities receiving a grade of A-.

To calculate the rankings and assign grades to communities, Niche looks at factors like the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics and access to amenities. Niche gets its data from government sources like the Department of Education, the FBI and the U.S. Census. You can read more about Niche’s methodology and data sources.

Some readers disagreed with the choice, downgrading Montgomery County communities for their traffic and perceived high cost of living. "With all of that traffic...I don't think so," wrote one commenter.

"Huh??? I can't think of anywhere in Montgomery County that is a good place to live. Glad I got out of there when I did," wrote reader Howard Roth. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

According to Niche, these are the 100 best communities to live in Maryland:

• North Bethesda A+
• Garrett Park A+
• North Potomac A+
• Bethesda A+
• South Kensington A+
• Kensington A+
• Ellicott City A+
• Rockville A+
• Urbana A+
• Columbia A+
• Potomac A+
• Chevy Chase A+
• Forest Glen A+
• Travilah A+
• Takoma Park A+
• Ilchester A+
• Somerset A+
• Darnestown A+
• Derwood A+
• Cabin John A+
• Chevy Chase Village A+
• Four Corners A+
• Chevy Chase Town A+
• Fulton A+
• Clarksburg A+
• Scaggsville A+
• Mays Chapel A+
• Olney A+
• Towson A+
• Brookmont A+
• Gaithersburg A+
• Silver Spring A+
• Crofton A+
• Cloverly A+
• Blythewood A+
• North Kensington A+
• Germantown A+
• Lutherville A+
• Elkridge A+
• Burtonsville A+
• Guilford A+
• Federal Hill A+
• North Laurel A+
• Wyman Park A
• Locust Point Industrial Area A
• Kemp Mill A
• Spring Ridge A
• Downtown West A
• University Park A
• Colesville A
• Locust Point A
• Redland A
• Butcher's Hill A
• Cockeysville A
• Damascus A
• Severna Park A
• Riverside A
• Upper Fells Point A
• Roland Park A
• Middletown A
• Keswick A
• South Baltimore A
• Homeland A
• Downtown A
• Catonsville A
• Hampton A
• Kernewood A
• Mid-Town Belvedere A
• Timonium A
• Savage A
• Tuscany-Canterbury A
• Perry Hall A
• Inner Harbor A
• Odenton A
• Ballenger Creek A
• Pikesville A
• Wyndhurst A
• Arnold A
• Fairland A
• Braddock Heights A
• Hillandale A
• Canton A
• Poolesville A
• Lake Evesham A
• Parole A
• Oakenshawe A
• Frederick A
• Montgomery Village A
• Riva A
• Bel Air A
• Spencerville A
• Sykesville A
• New Market A
• Maryland City A
• Calverton A
• Otterbein A
• Fells Point A
• Eldersburg A
• Evergreen A-
• North Roland Park/Poplar Hill A-

You can see how all of Maryland communities scored on the Niche rankings here.

Photo of Bay Bridge courtesy of Maryland Transportation Authority