Ashburn Ranks 3rd Best 'Small City' in Loudoun, Study Says

ASHBURN, VA — Ashburn, Va. ranks at #10 out of the 21 best small cities in Virginia, according to the personal finance website WalletHub. Neighboring Leesburg placed at #1 in the state--and also in the top 20 best small cities in America--the only small city in the state of Virginia in the top 20.

According to WalletHub, Ashburn ranks in the upper 48 percentile for best small cities nationwide, as compared to Leesburg at 99 percent and Sterling in the top 70 percent. (Scroll down to see the WalletHub ranking of small cities in Virginia.*)

To determine the best small cities in America, WalletHub’s analysts compared 1,268 "cities" across five key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Economic Health, 3) Education & Health, 4) Quality of Life and 5) Safety. For the sample, WalletHub selected cities with population sizes between 25,000 and 100,000 and considered only the “city proper” in each case, excluding "cities" in the surrounding metro area. To see the detailed methodology, click here.

What do you think? Do you agree with the WalletHub analysis? Which of these criteria matters to you for being among the "best" as a place to live? Tell us by posting in the Comments Section.

SEE ALSO: Ashburn the Best Place to Live in Virginia, Among Top in Nation: Money Magazine

Here's how Ashburn ranks in the study as compared to the other small cities in the Northern Virginia region that placed on the list, according to WalletHub:

'Affordability' Rank in U.S.:

Determined by examining: Housing Costs; Cost of Living; Median Household Income; and the Home Ownership rate.

• McLean: 62
• Ashburn: 137
• Leesburg: 242
• Centreville: 257
• Sterling: 331
• Reston: 444
• Manassas: 566
• Springfield: 697
• Annandale: 939
• Winchester: 1045
• Fredericksburg: 1183

'Economic Health' Rank in U.S.:

Determined by examining: Unemployment rate; Percentage of Residents Living Below Poverty Level; Population Growth; and Income Growth.

• Leesburg: 44
• Fredericksburg: 239
• Reston: 368
• McLean: 384
• Manassas: 464
• Ashburn: 563
• Winchester: 580
• Sterling: 628
• Annandale: 736
• Springfield: 911
• Centreville: 917

'Education and Health' Rank in U.S.:

Determined by examining: School System Quality; High School Graduation Rate; Percentage of Residents with at Least a High School Diploma; Percentage of Population with Health Insurance Coverage; Premature Death Rate; Poor or Fair Health; Low Birth Weight; Adult Obesity; and Physical Inactivity.

• McLean: 6
• Ashburn: 8
• Reston: 11
• Centreville: 33
• Leesburg: 46
• Springfield: 95
• Sterling: 111
• Annandale: 132
• Fredericksburg: 521
• Manassas: 601
• Winchester: 706

'Quality of Life' Rank in U.S.:

Determined by examining: Average Commute Time; Percentage of Residents Who Walk to Work; Mean Hours Worked per Week; Numbers Per Capita of: Restaurants, Bars, Coffee Shops, Museums, Performing Arts Centers; Fitness Centers; and Department Stores.

• Winchester: 11
• Fredericksburg: 12
• Sterling: 50
• Manassas: 96
• Springfield: 149
• Leesburg: 318
• Ashburn: 555
• McLean: 698
• Annandale: 916
• Reston: 925
• Centreville: 1220

'Safety' Rank in the U.S.**:
Determined by examining violent crime rate and property crime rate.

• Leesburg: 213
• Manassas: 346
• Winchester: 678
• Fredericksburg: 816

** The cities that appear on the ranking in Loudoun County (Ashburn, Sterling); and Fairfax County (Annandale, Centreville, McLean, Reston, Springfield) are not included in the WalletHub analysis in the Safety category.

"In order to determine our sample we only considered 'city proper', excluding cities in the surrounding metro area. The data to create the Crime Rate rankings was obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation," said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.

In Loudoun and Fairfax County: "This data was unavailable... as such we marked it as N/A. These results did not count towards the final ranking," Gonzalez added.

Click on this interactive map to see study results by location:

*Best 21 Small Cities in Virginia

1. Leesburg
2. Charlottesville
3. Winchester
4. Fredericksburg
5. Manassas
6. Sterling
7. McLean
8. Harrisonburg
9. Lynchburg
10. Ashburn
11. Suffolk
12. Roanoke
13. Springfield
14. Reston
15. Mechanicsville
16. Centreville
17. Danville
18. Portsmouth
19. Annandale
20. Petersburg
21. Blacksburg

To view the full report ranking, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-small-cities-to-live-in/16581.

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