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Rockville Named Best Place to Live in Maryland

Rockville was recently named a best place to live, work and retire.
‘Money’ Magazine Ranking is Latest in Long List of Accolades

Rockville is the best place to live in Maryland, as recently rated by “Money” magazine.

“Money” cited Rockville’s “low unemployment and an ultralow crime rate” as attractive to newcomers, as well as its high-ranking schools, shopping and amenities, which “help preserve its hometown appeal.”

“The City of Rockville offers the best of both worlds. We have the benefits of a small town while having the opportunities of a big city,” Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton said of the ranking by “Money,” which also ranked the city No. 39 on its list of 100 “Best Places to Live in America.” “Rockville is a city of neighborhoods. We value the diversity that our residents and businesses bring and are thrilled to see others recognize that we are a special community.”

Find “Money” magazine’s list of the best places to live in all 50 states at time.com/money/5108196/best-places-to-live-every-state-us.

Rockville also recently ranked No. 9 nationally on the list of “Happiest Cities to Work for 2018” compiled by CareerBliss.com, a job posting, review and salary comparison site, and No. 7 in Maryland in a study of best places to retire by SmartAsset, which considered taxes, the number of doctors’ offices and opportunities for recreation and social life.

Rockville is the ninth-most diverse city (and fourth-most diverse small city) in America, according to WalletHub, with more than one-third of the city’s residents born outside the United States.

The city was recognized for its commitment to the health, welfare, safety and equality of its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community with a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2017 Municipal Equality Index scorecard.

With a population of almost 70,000 residents, Rockville is one of Maryland’s oldest and most well-educated towns. Over 64 percent of Rockville residents have a college education. The median household income is $101,774 (in 2016 dollars).

The city offers a wide range of cultural opportunities and special events, including the annual Hometown Holidays Music Fest in Rockville Town Center and an annual Lunar New Year celebration. VisArts, the Glenview Mansion Art Gallery and F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre enhance Rockville’s quality of life with art and entertainment by local, regional and national artists. The annual F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference brings some of America’s most distinguished authors to the city each year.

With roots in its history and an eye toward the future, Rockville’s family-friendly neighborhoods and diverse housing mix offer a hometown atmosphere with urban amenities that earned the city the top spot on Livability.com’s 2016 list of “Best Cities for Families.”

Livability.com also ranked Rockville No. 13 on its 2017 list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live. It was the fourth straight year Rockville made the national list’s top 20.

Recognized as a four-time Playful City, Rockville offers plenty of places and opportunities for play, including a wide variety of recreation programs, classes and activities for all ages, a swim and fitness center, nature center, senior center, and numerous community centers. They are encircled by the “Bicycle Beltway,” the Carl Henn Millennium Trail, a signed, 10-foot-wide, shared-use path that makes an 11-mile loop around Rockville.

With 65 city parks and more than 1,000 acres of parkland within 14 square miles, Rockville has about 16 acres of open space for every 1,000 residents. Nearly every home is within a short walk of a park.

The city takes pride in its financial health, with rating agencies awarding Rockville a triple-A bond rating every year since Fiscal Year 2008 and no property tax increase in 10 years.

The city’s most recent biennial community survey showed that community members are happy to call Rockville home. Ninety-two percent of residents who responded described the city’s overall quality of life as excellent or good. Eighty-six percent rated the city’s overall quality of services as excellent or good.

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Rockville Reports is the official publication of the City of Rockville, published at City Hall, 111 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850-2364.