Community Corner

Best Places To Raise A Family In Maryland: 2023 Report

Seven of the top 10 communities to raise a family in Maryland are in the same county, according to Niche. See where your town ranks.

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MARYLAND — Strong school systems, quality of housing and safety were some of the top reasons many Maryland residents give for moving to the state.

The schools, healthy job opportunities, the Bay shoreline, the abundance of things to do and the seasons all help burnish the state's luster, even if the cost of living and traffic can make Maryland life somewhat challenging.

But there are degrees of goodness, and education website Niche has parsed the metrics to determine what community ranks where on a list of 2023 Best Places to Raise a Family in Maryland.

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Niche analysts judged Maryland neighborhoods on their schools, housing, jobs, weather, crime rate and seven other "quality of life" yardsticks, giving each a traditional "report card" of academic-type grades.

Seven of the top 10 best places to raise a family in Maryland are in Montgomery County, according to Niche, so maybe money really can buy happiness — or at least a happy childhood. South Kensington ranked No. 1 overall.

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Here's the Top 50 best places to raise a family statewide:

  1. South Kensington
  2. North Potomac
  3. Chevy Chase
  4. Potomac
  5. Bethesda
  6. North Bethesda
  7. Urbana
  8. Ellicott City
  9. Travilah
  10. Brookmont
  11. Chevy Chase View
  12. Kensington
  13. Fulton
  14. Rockville
  15. Martin's Additions
  16. Four Corners
  17. Chevy Chase Town
  18. Clarksburg
  19. Olney
  20. Cabin John
  21. Highland
  22. Chevy Chase Village
  23. Scaggsville
  24. Ilchester
  25. Somerset
  26. Lutherville
  27. Columbia
  28. Forest Glen
  29. Monrovia
  30. Derwood
  31. Darnestown
  32. North Laurel
  33. Timonium
  34. Silver Spring
  35. Elkridge
  36. Mays Chapel
  37. Poolesville
  38. Takoma Park
  39. New Market
  40. Towson
  41. Hampton
  42. North Kensington
  43. Crofton
  44. Kemp Mill
  45. Germantown
  46. Middletown
  47. Cloverly
  48. Gaithersburg
  49. Spring Ridge
  50. Damascus

If you want to see why your town or neighborhood received the score it did, click on the full list for more information from Niche, and search through hundreds of communities for their Niche descriptions.

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