9 'Best Small Cities' in Virginia

When the number crunchers at WalletHub were looking for the best small cities in Virginia, they could barely get out of the D.C. suburbs.

The new national 2015 Best & Worst Small Cities ranks 1,268 communities (several of these places aren’t actually cities) on issues like affordability, economic health, education and health, and quality of life.

“Inevitably, life in a small city demands some tradeoffs such as shorter business hours, a heavier reliance on cars and fewer dating opportunities,” according to the authors. “WalletHub’s analysts compared 1,268 small cities in the U.S. to find the ones where residents don’t have to give up much.”

Fredericksburg was at the top of the list for ”quality of life,” and Ashburn ranked No. 2 for “economic health.”

Here’s where Virginia fell in the overall rankings:

13. Ashburn

17. Sterling

37. Fredericksburg

44. Leesburg

49. Charlottesville

58. Winchester

185. McLean

276. Manassas

406. Springfield

The data included metrics like housing costs, school-system quality, and the number of restaurants per capita.

Read more at WalletHub.