rankings

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Metro train (Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley)

Arlington Named No. 11 Best Place in America — The same folks who named Arlington the best city to live in America earlier this summer have named it the 11th “best place to live in America.” Los Alamos, New Mexico topped the list and locally Merrifield, Virginia placed fourth. [Niche]

APS Schools Earn State Accreditation — All Arlington public schools, save one that is still being considered, have earned state accreditation. The final school is expected to be accredited later this fall, school officials say. “I want to congratulate all of our dedicated teachers and school leaders as well as our students and families on achieving full accreditation in all of our schools once again,” Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy said in a statement. [InsideNova, Arlington Public Schools]

Park(ing) Day Returns Tomorrow — The annual Park(ing) Day event in Arlington will be held tomorrow (Friday). At least five metered parking spaces around Arlington will be blocked off and converted into pop-up parks, “to elicit a reconsideration of the designation of public space.” [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

Arlington Named ‘Hardest-Working City in America’

By ARLnow.com

2016 hardest-working cities table (image via SmartAsset)Arlington County is the hardest-working “city” in the United States, at least according to a new set of rankings.

The financial website SmartAsset has Arlington ranked No. 1 on its list of the “hardest-working cities in America.” The website ranked 113 U.S. cities by labor market data on the average number of hours worked in a week and the average number of weeks worked per year.

The four hardest-working cities after Arlington were Anchorage, Alaska; Lincoln, Nebraska; Plano, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Detroit ranked last on the list

People in Arlington work an average of 41.5 hours per week and 40.15 weeks per year, according to SmartAsset. The company said that Arlington benefitted from steady employment at the Pentagon and other federal government offices.

Thanks in part to a large federal government presence, the Arlington, VA economy is largely immune to the economic shocks which sometimes rock the rest of the country. Government agencies like the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security are headquartered here. In fact, the Pentagon where the Department of Defense is headquartered is the largest office building in the world.

In Arlington people work an average of 41.5 hours per week. This figure is the highest in the country and a big reason Arlington comes in as the hardest-working city in America.

The largest private companies (in terms of employees) in the city are Deloitte and Accenture. Other large private companies owe their presence to the nearby Department of Defense, like Lockheed Martin. All in all, workers in Arlington work an average of 1,431 hours per year.

APS: We Didn’t Even Apply for the Newsweek Ranking

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Public Schools administration buildingAs we noted this morning, Arlington Public Schools was not included in Newsweek’s rankings of the 500 best public high schools in the country.

But there’s a big asterisk to that fact, says an APS spokesman.

As opposed to 2010, when all APS high schools were included in the top 500, for the past couple of years the school system hasn’t even applied to be ranked by Newsweek.

“Unlike the Niche, Great Schools and many other ‘school rankings; which are compiled by outside sources who access data from readily available sources like the VDOE and the US Department of Education, Newsweek is one of about a dozen or so rankings that ask school divisions to complete detailed forms and provide additional data to them,” said Frank Bellavia.

“As a result, for the past few years, APS (and many other school districts in Virginia and the U.S.) have chosen to not participate in the Newsweek list,” Bellavia said. “It is a time consuming endeavor that takes away time away from providing instructional and other supports to our students and families. Consequently, while interesting, the list is not scientifically valid since it does not report using data from all eligible school divisions.”

Bellavia said APS’ participation in the Newsweek rankings ended after 2010, when Newsweek was sold by its then-owner, the Washington Post.

“2010 was the last time Newsweek partnered with the Washington Post on the Challenge Index,” Bellavia said. “We continue to participate in the Post’s Challenge Index because it our local ‘hometown paper.'”

In the 2016 Challenge Index rankings, Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School was on the rise, ranking No. 5 in the D.C. area, while H-B Woodlawn, Yorktown and Wakefield were all down, ranking No. 8, 11 and 84 respectively.

Arlington Named Third ‘Healthiest City in America’

By Adrian Cruz

Fairlington Park exercise equipment

Arlington has been named among the nation’s healthiest places to live.

The county was called the “third healthiest city in America” by Niche.com, the rankings site that previously called Arlington the No. 2 “Best City for Millennials,” “Best City to Live in America” and the No. 7 Suburb to Live in America.

The categories surveyed to determine the healthiest city included physical activity rate, obesity rate, access to doctors, access to recreation and fitness facilities and percentage of smokers.

Arlington received an ‘A’ grade in access to doctors, mental health providers and recreation and fitness facilities. With over 150 listed parks in the county and 13 recreation centers along with privately owned gyms, Arlington has many options for residents to stay healthy.

The county’s obesity rate of 17.5 percent is more than 17 percentage points lower than the national average of 34.9 percent and its physical inactivity rate of 13.9 percent is lower than the state rate of 23.5 percent of Virginians reported as physically inactive.

Arlington’s percentage of smokers is 10.1 percent of the population, lower than the national rate of 16.8 percent.

Topping the “healthiest cities” list were Boulder, Colo., and San Francisco. Arlington beat out a long list of such other health paragons as Provo, Utah; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Berkeley, Calif. Neighboring Alexandria ranked No. 18 on that list.

This isn’t the first time someone has recognized Arlington for its vitality. The county was also named the sixth healthiest “city” in the U.S. by Livability.com last year.

Arlington Named No. 1 ‘Digital County’

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County public service issues mapArlington County is the top “digital county” among those with a population between 150,000 and a quarter million.

That’s according to the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties, which gave Arlington high marks for its tech related to “open government, transparency, citizen engagement, security and operations.”

This is the first time Arlington has achieved the honor.

“We’re proud of this award and for the work that was done this year to help create a more streamlined, responsive and inclusive government using technology,” Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey said in a press release (below). “Arlington will continue to innovate and explore new technology tools with the goal of creating the best possible experience for residents and businesses when they interact with the County.”

The county is ahead of the curve in tech in a number of ways. In the past couple of years Arlington has launched a dark fiber network that’s open to businesses, a data-driven smartphone app, online streaming of commission meetings and an “open data portal.”

The full press release from Arlington County, after the jump.

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Arlington Named No. 2 ‘Best City for Millennials’

By ARLnow.com

Arlington "best city for millennials" rankings (via Niche.com)Arlington County is the second-best place for millennials in the United States.

That’s according to Niche.com, the same rankings website that recently pegged Arlington as the “Best City to Live in America” and the No. 7 Suburb to Live in America.

In the latest rankings, Arlington received high marks for the number of millennial residents, job opportunities and access to bars and restaurants. It was dinged only for a high cost of living.

Tech and education hub Cambridge, Mass. ranked No. 1 while Arlington’s neighbor Alexandria ranked No. 3. D.C. ranked No. 9.

The top 10 localities for millennials in 2016, according to Niche, are:

  1. Cambridge, Mass.
  2. Arlington, Va.
  3. Alexandria, Va.
  4. San Francisco
  5. Ann Arbor, Mich.
  6. Minneapolis
  7. Seattle
  8. Denver
  9. Washington, D.C.
  10. Austin, Texas

Arlington Named ‘Best City To Retire’

By Adrian Cruz

Aerial view of apartment buildings in Courthouse (Flickr pool photo by Alex Erkiletian)Arlington County continues to receive accolades. It has just been named the ‘best city to retire,’ according to a new report by Bankrate.com.

The report used eight categories to rank 196 cities, including cost of living, crime rate, walkability, wellbeing, taxes, health care, weather and culture.

Arlington was ranked highly in most of the categories, with low crime and tax rates complementing “great” ratings in walkability, culture, healthcare and well-being.

Arlington’s main drawback was the high cost of living. Another negative: the weather only receiving an “average” rating.

“We found that smaller cities and suburbs fared the best,” said Bankrate.com analyst Jill Cornfield. “Most seniors prefer to live in these types of communities because they offer access to big-city amenities without as much hustle, bustle and crime.”

Four of the top 10 cities on the list are located in the D.C. area with Alexandria, Silver Spring and Rockville all receiving high marks as well.

The top 10 cities in Bankrate.com’s rankings are:

  1. Arlington, VA
  2. Alexandria, VA
  3. Franklin, TN
  4. Silver Spring, MD
  5. West Des Moines, IA
  6. Nashville, TN
  7. Sarasota, FL
  8. Rockville, MD
  9. Des Moines, IA
  10. Murfreesboro, TN

Flickr pool photo by Alex Erkiletian

Arlington Ranked No. 7 Suburb in U.S. By Same Website That Just Ranked It No. 1 City

By ARLnow.com

Niche logoArlington County is the “Best City to Live in America,” according to the website Niche.com, as of last week.

But, according to Niche, Arlington didn’t rank quite as well on its new list of the “Best Suburbs to Live in America.”

Arlington is No. 7 on the list, behind McNair in Fairfax County (No. 6); Park City, Utah (No. 4) and Merrifield, also in Fairfax County (No. 2). Superior, a town near Boulder, Colorado, topped the list at No. 1.

The “Best Suburbs” list is “based on crime, public schools, cost of living, job opportunities, and local amenities.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

View from the rooftop of the new Bartlett apartment building in Pentagon City (photo courtesy @rydaka)

Some Developers Are Pessimistic About the Pike — “The mood is not good,” Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization chairman John Murphy said of developers. “Some of them made big investments, big bets based on the county saying we’re going to do the streetcar. They feel betrayed, they’re not happy at all.” [Bisnow]

Board to Buy Bungalow to Bolster Benjamin Banneker — The Arlington County Board this weekend is expected to approve the purchase of a $637,500 property on 17th Street N. in order to expand Benjamin Banneker Park, near the East Falls Church Metro station. [InsideNova]

DCA Flight Path Changes — The Federal Aviation Administration is considering changes to flight paths for planes departing Reagan National Airport, in response to complaints from D.C. residents. Meanwhile, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is organizing a community meeting to discuss “recent changes to departure procedures for aircraft taking off to the south of the airport.” [WTOP, Rep. Don Beyer]

Chaplain at DCA Mourns Son — Rev. Nace Lanier, the chaplain at Reagan National Airport, is mourning the loss of his 10-year-old son to a brain tumor. [Washington Post]

Clarendon Salon Closed Due to Flooding — Casal’s at Clarendon, a salon and day spa, has been closed for a week “due to a water pipe breaking and flooding the salon.” [Twitter, Twitter]

Sehkraft Makes ‘Hottest New Bars’ List — Sehkraft Brewing in Clarendon is one of the 10 hottest new bars in the D.C. area, according to Zagat, which writes: “This sprawling, pulsating Arlington brewhouse, gastropub, butcher shop, beer garden and live-music venue is powered by the brilliantly colored art on the walls, robust smoked and grilled American fare and curated craft beers.” [Zagat]

Free Smoothies Today — Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which has a location at 3811 Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square, is celebrating National Flip Flop Day by raising money for charity and giving out some free smoothies. The store will offer free smoothies to customers wearing flip flops from 2-7 p.m. [Tropical Smoothie Cafe]

Photo courtesy @rydaka

Arlington Ranked ‘Best City to Live in America’

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn skyline (Flickr pool photo by Brian Allen)

Arlington County has topped a new list of the “Best Cities to Live in America.”

Arlington received high marks for education, health and fitness, nightlife, family amenities, outdoor activities, length of commute and diversity, according to Niche.com.

“It has very high home values, very high rent costs, and very low unemployment levels,” the website said. “Its citizens generally have very high education levels and very high income levels.”

Arlington bested cities like Cambridge, Massachusetts and Columbia, Maryland for the top spot on the list.

“These new rankings explore 224 cities to find the best places to live in the U.S. based on crime, public schools, cost of living, job opportunities, and local amenities,” said a Niche spokeswoman. “Our team of data scientists analyzed data from the U.S. Census, FBI, BLS, CDC, and other sources to calculate these rankings.”

The top 15 in Niche’s new rankings are:

  1. Arlington, VA
  2. Cambridge, MA
  3. Columbia, MD
  4. Ann Arbor, MI
  5. Plano, TX
  6. Overland Park, KS
  7. Boulder, CO
  8. Berkeley, CA
  9. Rochester, MN
  10. Bellevue, WA
  11. Irvine, CA
  12. Sunnyvale, CA
  13. Alexandria, VA
  14. San Francisco, CA
  15. Round Rock, TX

Flickr pool photo by Brian Allen

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

DCA departure (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Arlington Drops in Happiness Rankings — After being ranked 15th last year, Arlington has dropped out of the top 25 of the “happiest counties in America” list. [WTOP, SmartAsset]

Unsettled Weather This Weekend — Expect rain today, Saturday and Sunday, says the National Weather Service. On Sunday there’s a good chance of severe storms. [Twitter]

Rosslyn Outdoor Movie Fest Starts Tonight — Weather permitting, Rosslyn’s outdoor movie festival starts tonight with a showing of “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial.” This year’s Rosslyn movie theme is “Incredible Journeys.” [Rosslyn]

Fisette Mum on Reelection — Jay Fisette, the longest-serving current County Board member, says he will wait until the end of the year before deciding whether to run for reelection in 2017. [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

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