Alexandria Ranked Among Best Places For Families In U.S. By Fortune Magazine

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria has the qualities to make it one of America's best places for families to live, according to a new ranking from Fortune Magazine.

On Wednesday, Fortune released its 2023 Best Places to Live for Families ranking. The magazine analyzed almost 1,900 U.S. cities, towns, suburbs, exurbs, villages, and townships with at least 20,000 residents. Analysts looked at over 200,000 data points for the locations in five categories: education, aging resources, general wellness, financial health and livability.

Alexandria ranked 18th on the list, making it the only Virginia city on the list.

"It is a tremendous honor to be acknowledged by Fortune Magazine as a preeminent location for families to reside within the Commonwealth of Virginia and nationwide," said Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson in a statement. "Our residents, visitors, and vibrant business community play a vital role in making Alexandria a community where everyone can thrive."

According to Fortune, this particular ranking had a focus on multigenerational families, which may involve parents living with their children and aging parents. The ranking looked at factors affecting this type of family, including quality of public schools, graduation rates, number of quality nursing homes, home health care agencies, access to quality health care providers and more.

Loneliness increased nationwide during the pandemic, making strong support systems imperative as a growing number of Americans seek new places to live, Fortune explained.

Fortune said the pandemic caused elevated levels of loneliness and social isolation, with the increase in remote work and the exodus of people from large cities — away from their support systems. When deciding where to relocate, the quality of the school system is important, but so are health services, including mental health and resources for older relatives — all of which can be an antidote to loneliness and build social ties.

Fortune did not include places where home sale prices were double the state median or over 2.75 times the national median. Alexandria's median sales price from 2022 was $597,771, while household income is $114,764.

Places that were 75 less diverse than the state medians were also not included in the ranking, as the magazine sought to spotlight diverse places. Fortune notes Alexandria's population is about 21.6 percent Black, 16.4 percent Hispanic and 6.26 percent Asian.

The magazine credits Alexandria with offering numerous fine dining and shopping, waterfront outdoor dining, walkable streets and "a real sense of community" in neighborhoods like Del Ray and Cameron Station. It also has the benefit of historic architecture and attractions like the Torpedo Factory Art Center and George Washington's Mount Vernon to the south of the city.

"We endeavor to cultivate an environment that not only embraces families, but also all those who live, work and visit our community," said City Manager James Parajon in a statement. "I particularly want to acknowledge the exemplary efforts of our city staff, non-profit organizations and volunteers, all of whom work tirelessly to shape this exceptional community into an extraordinary place to call home."

While the study focuses on Alexandria City, it mentions Alexandria City Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools as school districts serving residents with Alexandria mailing addresses. Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which doesn't serve Alexandria City, is mentioned as a top school.