Arlington and Falls Church have both ranked as some of the most livable localities in the nation for the second year in the row.
Arlington was at the top of the charts for “large communities” and Falls Church was No. 2 among “small communities,” according to a new ranking of U.S. localities from the American Association of Retired People (AARP).
This was Arlington’s second year in a row claiming the top spot, and Falls Church ranked No. 1 in Virginia both this year and in 2024.
Much like last year, both communities earned high marks on “livability” metrics including transportation, health and engagement. Falls Church’s score of 72 out of 100 was slightly above Arlington’s score of 68, partly due to better marks in the “opportunity” metric.
Both Arlington and Falls Church were rated lowest in the “housing” category, where Arlington fared slightly better than its neighbor.
Just behind Arlington among communities with 100,000 to 499,999 people was neighboring Alexandria. Cambridge, Mass. came in at the No. 3 spot, followed by Salt Lake City.
Ahead of Falls Church on the ranking of communities with 5,000 to 24,999 people was the village of Great Neck Plaza, N.Y., located outside of Queens.
Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria were also the top three most livable municipalities in Virginia, followed by Vienna at No. 4 and Herndon at No. 5.
“We encourage more communities in Virginia to use the AARP Livability Index to identify areas for improvement and help create vibrant and welcoming environments for people of all ages,” said AARP Virginia State President Joyce Williams. “And we look forward to working with local leaders to innovate and adapt to meet the needs of residents of all ages.”
Also in the D.C. area, Montgomery County ranked as the No. 2 “very large” community, behind San Francisco. D.C. clocked in at No. 14 in that category.
