Niche recently released its 2025 list of the ‘Best Places to Live in Maryland.’ Niche is an online resource providing information on K-12 schools, colleges, cities, neighborhoods, and companies across the United States. The ‘Best Places to Live’ ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of the overall livability of an area.
The Niche rankings take into account several key factors of a location, including the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, and access to amenities in an attempt to measure the overall quality of an area.
Montgomery County is home to 16 of the top 25 areas. Howard County has five areas making the list, and Frederick and Baltimore counties each have two. The list has 706 areas listed overall. Below you’ll see Niche’s top 25:
25. Towson (Baltimore County)
24. Cabin John (Montgomery County)
23. Kensington (Montgomery County)
22. Takoma Park (Montgomery County)
21. Poolesville (Montgomery County)
20. Clarksburg (Montgomery County)
19. Ilchester (Howard County)
18. Olney (Montgomery County)
17. Forest Glen (Montgomery County)
16. Scaggsville (Howard County)
15. Urbana (Frederick County)
14. Monrovia (Frederick County)
13. Columbia (Howard County)
12. Travilah (Montgomery County)
11. Rockville (Montgomery County)
10. Lutherville (Baltimore County)
9. Chevy Chase (Montgomery County)
8. Four Corners (Montgomery County)
7. South Kensington (Montgomery County)
6. Bethesda (Montgomery County)
5. Potomac (Montgomery County)
4. Ellicott City (Howard County)
3. Fulton (Howard County)
2. North Bethesda (Montgomery County)
1. North Potomac (Montgomery County)
The full list of 706 areas can be seen here.