The 10 Best Counties In America

We’ve done a lot of rankings of places here at the Movoto Real Estate Blog for different criteria, like education or safety. But what if you’re just looking for a general area that has a lot to offer? We can help out there, too .

We have to give a nod to the East Coast on this one, because they sure wrapped up the top 10. Don’t worry, other states, there are plenty of you represented in the top 50. 

See the full ranking and methodology, below.

1. Loudoun County, Virginia

This is one of those instances where the winner was a pretty obvious one, just by the rankings.

The median rent here was the highest on our list, which indicated that people are willing to shell out the big bucks to call this place home. The household income rank was also No. 1, so locals can earn enough to pay for those upscale apartments.

It also helps that most people here were employed. With the fourth lowest unemployment rate on our list, at 4.85 percent, and with only 2.51 percent of families being below the poverty line, locals are likely to be comfortable financially and career-wise.

Did we also mention that it had a high school graduation rate of over 93 percent? That certainly didn’t hurt in the rankings.

2. Douglas County, Colorado

Though it wasn’t quite up to Loudoun standards, Douglas County was still pretty darn awesome.

With the highest graduation rate, a whopping 97.2 percent, you’re bound to get a good education here or provide one for your family. Only about 2 percent of families here were below the poverty line as well, which ranked No. 1 for that category.

People were willing to pay a pretty hefty sum to live here, but that’s okay, considering that households here made a median income of over $94,000 a year. That was enough for the third place income ranking, and likely enough to pay for the 29th most expensive housing costs on our list.

3. Fairfax County, Virginia

The scores for this very large Virginia county (1,086,743 people) were pretty good across the board. However, there were a few standout rankings.

The second-highest household income, with locals making an average of over $103,010, certainly had something to do with it.

That wasn’t the only stellar score, however. The third highest median rent, 12th fewest number of families below the poverty line, and an unemployment rate under six percent all boost this place’s scores.

It’s also probably worth mentioning that 10 Fortune 500 companies are based in this county, if that tells you anything about the type of folks that call this place home.

4. Chester County, Pennsylvania

While there were no truly standout scores for Chester County, it should be noted that they did not rank outside of the top 60 in any one category. Really, considering we looked at over 600 places, that’s pretty impressive all on its own.

More specifically, this county did have the No. 12 ranking for both household income and low poverty. The unemployment rate here was also a very low 6.2 percent.

Nature lovers will also be pleased to know that locals can visit not one but three different state parks fairly easily. Ah, breathe that fresh air!

5. Somerset County, New Jersey

One of America’s oldest counties, this place is just pretty much amazing.

There’s beauty, friendliness, and a ton to see and do. Of course, this place also had some serious stats saying that this is an ideal county for anyone to call home.

With the fourth highest median household income and the fourth lowest poverty on our list, it’s easy to see why locals want to live here. That desire to live in the area shows pretty strong through the pricey median rent and housing costs.

Ah well, sometimes you just have to pay a little more to get the finer things in life.

6. Morris County, New Jersey

Another New Jersey locale, this place had some very strong stats across the board. It should be mentioned that the unemployment here was a little higher, at over seven percent, but the rest of the numbers certainly made up for it, plus that’s still very low unemployment.

This home to 492,694 had the sixth highest household income, a stunning $91,469, and the 16th lowest poverty, making it a good place live comfortably financially. Of course, if you’re looking to start a family or have children that need a solid education, you could do a lot worse. The high school graduation rate was over 93 percent, so prepare to gain a little in the smarts department if you decide to move here.

7. Washington County, Minnesota

Our only top 10 county in Minnesota, this one’s home to some comfy and rather brainy folks.

Why brainy? Well, because 96 percent of folks here graduate high school, the fourth most on our list, and many go on to get higher degrees. Knowledge is power, right?

The other stats for these parts are pretty solid. too. This county had the 25th highest household income, and the 26th lowest poverty. On top of that, the home prices here were quite affordable, ranking 111th on our list.

With that in mind, this county might be a great way to get some serious bang for your buck if you’re looking for quality without premium prices.

8. Montgomery County, Maryland

Unlike Washington County, this place comes with a pretty high price tag. The median rent here ranked fourth, at $1,466, and the housing prices were ranked in the top 25 on our list.

Luckily enough, the unemployment here was pretty low, and the median household income ranked eighth on our list, at $89,155, so you might just be able to afford those expenses.

Still, those prices indicate that this is a desirable place to live, and it’s no wonder. The poverty here was low, most students graduate high school, and over 25 percent of those students go on to postgraduate degrees.

So it’s expensive, yes, but you’re getting a lot of great perks and a great place to live for that price tag.

9. Frederick County, Maryland

Another Maryland County, this large locale shows that Montgomery isn’t the only place with some awesome perks.

To start, this county had the fifth lowest poverty rank, with 3.12 percent of families being below the poverty line, so the locals here aren’t finding it too hard to get by. Of course, the 16th ranked median household income helps with that, too.

All in all, every single one of this place’s ranking were in the top 100. Considering there were over 600 counties that we looked at, that’s pretty amazing.

It probably shouldn’t come as any surprise, then, that the rent here and the median home price were both on the expensive side. But given all the other high rankings, and the beautiful nature and thriving cities nearby, we’d say it’s probably worth it.

10. Rockingham County, New Hampshire

Hanging in there and making a strong showing in the top 10 was New Hampshire’s Rockingham County.

All this place’s scores were in the top 90, which means that overall it’s hard to go wrong around here. The income and high school graduation rate were particularly high, which is good for students and their parents alike.

There was, however, one standout score. This place had the second-lowest poverty on our entire list, with 2.41 percent of families being below the poverty line.

So, if you decide to call this place home, chances are you’ll be well educated, employed, comfortable, and happy. As we said, it’s hard to go wrong with a place like that.

How We Created This Ranking

We’ve made Big Deal Lists before, and this one wasn’t any different in that we worked completely by the numbers. The criteria we used, however, were a little different this time around. First, we made a list, using the 2010 Census, of all counties in the U.S. that had available data in the following areas:

• Unemployment rate (the lower the better)
• Median household income (the higher the better)
• Median rent (the higher the better, to indicate area’s desirability)
• Median home price (the higher the better, to indicate desirability)
• Percent of families below the poverty line (the lower the better)
• High school graduation rate (the higher the better)

That left us with a total of 640 counties. Any counties that did not have that data were omitted from our list.

Then, we ranked each county in each category from one to 640, with scores closer to one being better. Finally, we averaged each county’s rankings into one Big Deal Score, and the county with the lowest Big Deal Score number was our winner.

SEE ALSO: The Best Coffee Shop In Every State

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