Alexandria Named A Top 'County' To Live In

ALEXANDRIA, VA—A new analysis by 24/7 Wall Street ranked Alexandria 16th among 25 top counties to live in around the U.S. based on the quality of life.

24/7 Wall Street came up with the results implementing the same factors as the United Nations' Human Development Index used to rank nations—educational attainment, poverty rate, and life expectancy. Alexandria does well in most categories with a 10.6 percent population increase over five years, 2.8 percent unemployment rate, 9.8 percent poverty rate and 81.7 year life expectancy at birth. While it is technically not classified as a county, Alexandria fits the criteria as an independent city in this case.

The data used in the study are 2012-2016 averages from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2014 life expectancy estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and November 2017 unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The analysis found some of the highest ranked counties came from major metropolitan areas where many residents have high-paying jobs. With an abundance of high-paying jobs in government and other industries, it's not surprising seven of the 25 best counties to live in hail from the DC metropolitan area. Other counties and independent cities ranked in the top 25 include Falls Church City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Fairfax City.

Here's the full list:

1. Falls Church City, Virginia

2. Pitkin County, Colorado

3. Arlington County, Virginia

4. Los Alamos County, New Mexico

5. Douglas County, Colorado

6. Fairfax County, Virginia

7. Howard County, Maryland

8. Loudoun County, Virginia

9. Marin County, California

10. Fairfax City, Virginia

11. Summit County, Colorado

12. Williamson County, Tennessee

13. Teton County, Wyoming

14. Hamilton County, Indiana

15. Eagle County, Colorado

16. Alexandria City, Virginia

17. Montgomery County, Maryland

18. Somerset County, New Jersey

19. Morris County, New Jersey

20. Ouray County, Colorado

21. Ouray County, Colorado

22. Hunterdon County, New Jersey

23. Johnson County, Kansas

24. Delaware County, Ohio

25. Carver County, Minnesota

See the full study as published in USA Today.

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Image by Patch editor Emily Leayman