Best Places To Raise A Family In Virginia: 2023 Report

VIRGINIA — Strong school systems, quality of housing and safety were some of the top reasons many Virginia residents give for moving to the state. The top 50 best places to live in the Commonwealth were overwhelmingly in the counties that comprise Northern Virginia, with Arlington claiming about half of the spots.

The schools, healthy job opportunities, the proximity to seashore and mountains, 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 life in the Commonwealth 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 Virginia.

Niche analysts judged Virginia neighborhoods and suburbs 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.

Twenty-seven of the top 50 best places to raise a family in Virginia are neighborhoods in Arlington, according to Niche, so maybe money really can buy happiness — or at least a happy childhood. Broadlands in Loudoun County is ranked No. 1 overall.

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

1. Broadlands
2. Dominion Hills, Neighborhood in Arlington, VA
3. South Riding
4. Donaldson Run in Arlington
5. Waycroft/Woodlawn, Neighborhood in Arlington
6. Colonial Village, Neighborhood in Arlington
7. Brambleton
8. Bluemont, Neighborhood in Arlington
9. Franklin Farm
10. Wakefield
11. Wyndham
12. Mantua
13. McLean
14. Cherrydale, Neighborhood in Arlington
15. Arlington/East Falls Church
16. Stone Ridge
17. Maywood, Neighborhood in Arlington
18. Loudoun Valley Estates
19. Oakton
20. Short Pump
21. Old Dominion, Neighborhood in Arlington
22. Madison Manor, Neighborhood in Arlington
23. Westover Village, Neighborhood in Arlington
24. Dunn Loring
25. Long Branch
26. Arlington Forest, Neighborhood in Arlington
27. Highland Park/Overlee Knolls, Neighborhood in Arlington
28. Highview Park, Neighborhood in Arlington
29. Woodmont, Neighborhood in Arlington
30. Belmont
31. Innsbrook
32. Waverly Hills, Neighborhood in Arlington
33. Williamsburg, Neighborhood in Arlington
34. Radnor/Fort Myer Heights, Neighborhood in Arlington
35. Arlington
36. Albemarle Glebe, Neighborhood in Arlington
37. Tara/Leeway Heights, Neighborhood in Arlington
38. North Highland, Neighborhood in Arlington
39. Ballston/Virginia Square, Neighborhood in Arlington
40. Boulevard Manor, Neighborhood in Arlington
41. Yorktown, Neighborhood in Arlington
42. Vienna
43. North Rosslyn, Neighborhood in Arlington
44. Great Falls
45. Arlington Heights, Neighborhood in Arlington
46. Cascades
47. Wolf Trap
48. Leeway, Neighborhood in Arlington
49. Arlington View, Neighborhood in Arlington
50. Lyon Village, Neighborhood in Arlington

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.