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Washington , DC Area Communities among
"Best Places in America to Live"
Greater Washington Initiative Welcomes
Findings of New CNN/MONEY Survey

July 18, 2005; WASHINGTON , DC – A new survey by CNN and MONEY magazine rates 19 towns in the Greater Washington, DC area among America's best communities.  The Washington area includes Washington, DC, Suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia, and represents the fourth largest regional economy in the United States.

Vienna , a Northern Virginia suburb, and two Maryland suburbs, Ellicott City and Gaithersburg, rank as three of the top 20 places in the country to live.

Sixteen other Washington area towns rank among the top 10 communities in the nation in key categories:

  • Great Falls and Fairfax Station, VA; and Potomac, MD, are among the towns with the highest household incomes in the U.S. Great Falls has the highest median household income in the country: $165,592.
  • Chevy Chase, Bethesda, and Potomac, MD; and McLean, VA, rank among the top 10 towns according to educational achievement.
  • Chevy Chase tops the list with 48% of its residents holding graduate degrees.Ashburn, Leesburg, and Sterling, VA, rank among the top 10 towns in the U.S. in terms of job growth. All three towns have increased employment more than 132 percent since 1990.
  • Arlington, VA; Washington, DC; and Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Derwood, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Kensington, and Montgomery Village, MD, take nine of the top 10 rankings in school spending.

Tim Priest, Interim Managing Partner for the Greater Washington Initiative, says he's not surprised by the high rankings:  "Whether it's sustained economic expansion and job growth, international business links or quality of life factors like parks, sports and the arts, the Washington area is far-and-away the best place in  America in which to live, work and play."  

MONEY and CNN/Money.com

MONEY, published by Time Inc., is  America's largest financial publication with a circulation of 1.9 million and a total readership of 7.6 million.  CNN/Money.com, ( www.money.com), is the world's largest website dedicated to business and finance with nearly 8 million unique monthly visitors.

GWI

The Greater Washington Initiative (GWI) (www.greaterwashington.org) is the marketing and economic development arm of the Greater Washington area, the nation's fourth largest economic region and its fourth largest population center.  GWI is an affiliate of the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

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The Greater Washington Initiative (GWI) is the regional economic development marketing organization that promotes the area encompassing the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland as a premier business location. GWI is an affiliate of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. For more info, visit www.greaterwashington.org

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Greater Washington Initiative
(202) 857-5999