Bethesda Among Nation's Top 50 Cities: Study

BETHESDA, MD — Bethesda has yet again been named among the nation's best cities in which to live — a not-so-surprising metric considering the Washington DC suburb is one of the wealthiest and most educated communities in the nation.

Money, a finance-focused magazine, named Bethesda the nation's No. 20 most livable city, citing a median family income of around $180,000. According to the report, a high number of residents hold professional or doctoral degrees, and less than 10 percent of the population failed to complete high school.

Meanwhile, Bethesda is home to numerous government offices along with tech, healthcare and investment companies, including the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the National Institutes of Health and Lockheed Martin, Money reports.

The study looked at 583 cities across the united states when making its listing. MONEY automatically eliminated any city with more than double the national crime risk, less than 85 percent of the its state's median income or a lack of ethnic diversity.

Each city was then studied across more than 135,000 data points, including economic health, cost of living, education, ease of living, amenities and more. Data from Realtor.com was then used to study housing markets in finalist cities.

Also on this year's list was Ellicott City, Maryland, which weighed in at slot No. 4. Money reports Ellicott City's quality public education, movie theaters, community centers, public pools, farmers markets and outdoor recreational offerings are some of the things that put Ellicott City near the top of the list.

>>> See the full study via Money.

Image: Bethesda image courtesy of Montgomery Community Media