The Best Counties to Live In

Howard County, Maryland, located in between Baltimore and Washington D.C., has one of the best educated populations in the United States. An estimated 62.6% of the local 25 and older population have a bachelor’s degree or higher, the largest share in the state and fifth largest of all U.S. counties.

Across broad populations, higher education levels have been shown to reduce the likelihood of poverty and improve health outcomes. In Howard County, residents are less than half as likely to live below the poverty line than the typical American and, at 83.4 years, life expectancy at birth is over four years higher than the national average.

Fairfax County, Virginia, located just outside of Washington D.C. and the city of Arlington, is one of the top 50 places to live in the United States largely for its health outcomes. Life expectancy at birth in the county is 85.3 years, more than six years longer than the national average. Additionally, at just 6.1%, the local poverty rate is less than half the 13.4% national poverty rate.

Across broad populations, higher education levels generally lead to better health outcomes/higher life expectancy and greater financial stability. In Fairfax County, 61.6% of the 25 and older population have a bachelor’s degree or higher, a larger share than in all but six other U.S. counties.

Loudoun County, Virginia, located just west of Washington D.C., is one of many of the 50 best places to live within commuting distance of a major city. Access to jobs in and around the nation’s capital explains why joblessness is relatively low — the county’s 4.6% jobless rate is well below the comparable 6.8% national average. With lower than average unemployment, a far smaller than typical share of county residents are struggling financially. Just 3.4% live below the poverty line, about one-fourth the comparable national poverty rate.

Poverty can have far reaching health effects on those afflicted by it, and areas with low poverty typically have relatively healthy populations. In Loudoun County, life expectancy at birth is 84.2 years, five years longer than the national average.

Teton County is located in the northwestern part of Wyoming, bordering Idaho and Montana. Teton ranks as America’s seventh best county to live in large part because of its residents’ prosperity. The county spans the wealthy ski town of Jackson, which is home to more billionaires than anywhere else in the state. Teton County’s median household income of $84,678 is nearly $22,000 higher than the U.S. median, and its poverty rate of 6.1% is less than half the national poverty rate.

Teton County residents have some of the best health outcomes of any place in America. Just 12.4% of residents 20 and older are obese, the lowest obesity rate of any U.S. county and less than half the U.S. obesity rate of 29.0%. The county’s life expectancy at birth of 89.5 years ranks among the 10 highest in the country.

Los Alamos County, New Mexico, is the only county in the state to rank among the 50 best places to live in the United States. The county is by far the wealthiest in the state, with a median household income of $121,324 and a poverty rate of 4.4%. Nationwide, the typical household earns $62,843 and 13.4% of the population live below the poverty line.

The local economy, and the far lower than average 3.6% unemployment rate, is supported in large part by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The lab, which is mostly involved in nuclear weapons research, employs over 13,000 people and has an annual budget of nearly $3 billion.