Bethesda, Chevy Chase Ranked in 'Top 10' Places to Live in Maryland

Where's the best place to live in Maryland? 

According to one real estate research firm, it's Montgomery County—all of its "Top Ten" places to live in the state are here.

Not only that, but both Bethesda and Chevy Chase made that top 10 list, complied by the firm Movoto.

Movoto's top 10 places to live in Maryland are:

1. Travilah
2. North Potomac
3. Bethesda (tied with Burtonsville)
4. Burtonsville (tied with Bethesda)
5. Potomac
6. South Kensington
7. Poolesville
8. Clarksburg
9. Olney
10. Chevy Chase 

Bethesda is "well employed, with an unemployment rate of just 4.7 percent; it is well educated, with a high school diploma attainment rate of 97 percent, and it has one of the highest median home values on our list—an average of $798,900," Movoto reported on its blog.

Chevy Chase—the U.S. Census-designated place, not the town—actually "came in first for its high school graduation rate (97 percent) and ranked well for median household income ($157,802)," Movoto reported.

County Planning Director Gwen Wright is "quite pleased with this list."

"This is just more validation that the work of the [Montgomery County] Planning Board has led to the approval and creation of wonderful places to live in Montgomery County," she said.

Movoto used these seven criteria to rank places in Maryland with at least 5,000 residents:

• Cost of living
• Crime rate
• High school graduation rate
• Median household income
• Median home value
• Median rent price
• Unemployment rate

For more information on Movoto's Top 10 Best Places to Live in Maryland list, visit Movoto's website, www.movoto.com/blog/top-ten/best-places-in-maryland.