(NEXSTAR) – For the second straight year, a neighborhood in Virginia has taken top honors in an annual study of the best places to live in the United States. Niche, a research and ranking platform, releases a report each year that weighs data from the Census Bureau, FBI, NOAA, the Niche local survey and other sources to rank more than 12,000 communities across the country. In 2025, the top place to live was once again Colonial Village in Arlington, Virginia. Home to just over 3,000 people, the neighborhood received the best possible grade when it came to public schools, health and fitness, commute, nightlife and family-friendliness. "This year’s results highlight significant growth in the South, which is well represented across our Best Places to Buy a House and Lowest Cost of Living categories," Niche PR Manager Zach Chatham told Nexstar. "Notably, Texas stands out as a top destination, attracting a surge of newcomers.” Allergy sufferers in these US cities face a tough 2025 season, study finds A SmartAsset study in late 2024 echoed those findings, showing that roughly 615,000 people moved to The Lone Star State between 2021 and 2022, according to IRS data. Meantime, communities in the Midwest and Northeast tended to score higher as great places to raise a family, thanks to solid public schools and access to jobs, while California dominated the the health and wellness category for a third year running, according to Niche. See the top 50 places to live in America, according to Niche: RankNameArea TypeCountyMetro AreaState2025 Ranking2024 Ranking1Colonial VillageNeighborhoodArlington CountyWashington, D.C. AreaVirginia112Atlantic StationNeighborhoodFulton CountyAtlanta AreaGeorgia2273ChesterbrookTownChester CountyPhiladelphia AreaPennsylvania334Harbour IslandNeighborhoodHillsborough CountyTampa AreaFlorida495City CenterNeighborhoodLos Angeles CountyLos Angeles AreaCalifornia54046South Lake UnionNeighborhoodKing CountySeattle AreaWashington6207CarmelTownHamilton CountyIndianapolis AreaIndiana728MidtownNeighborhoodFulton CountyAtlanta AreaGeorgia8579MadisonTownMadison CountyHuntsville AreaAlabama95810Johns CreekTownFulton CountyAtlanta AreaGeorgia101311ArdmoreTownMontgomery CountyPhiladelphia AreaPennsylvania111212Courier City/OscawanaNeighborhoodHillsborough CountyTampa AreaFlorida1211313Penn WynneTownMontgomery CountyPhiladelphia AreaPennsylvania133514BrooklineTownNorfolk CountyBoston AreaMassachusetts141115DowntownNeighborhoodOrange CountyOrlando AreaFlorida1547416Cinco RanchTownFort Bend CountyHouston AreaTexas16517Ballston/Virginia SquareNeighborhoodArlington CountyWashington, D.C. AreaVirginia174418Radnor/Fort Myer HeightsNeighborhoodArlington CountyWashington, D.C. AreaVirginia18819OkemosTownIngham CountyLansing AreaMichigan191520Triangle StateNeighborhoodTravis CountyAustin AreaTexas204021Evergreen ParkNeighborhoodSanta Clara CountySan Francisco Bay AreaCalifornia21722CambridgeportNeighborhoodMiddlesex CountyBoston AreaMassachusetts223023NapervilleTownDuPage CountyChicago AreaIllinois232424InnsbrookTownHenrico CountyRichmond AreaVirginia242125Clarendon HillsTownDuPage CountyChicago AreaIllinois252926North PotomacTownMontgomery CountyWashington, D.C. AreaMaryland263127BrentwoodTownSt. Louis CountySt. Louis AreaMissouri271728CaryTownWake CountyRaleigh AreaNorth Carolina283229HinsdaleTownDuPage CountyChicago AreaIllinois293830Mount PleasantNeighborhoodDistrict of Columbia CountyWashington, D.C. AreaDistrict of Columbia307131Blue AshTownHamilton CountyCincinnati AreaOhio311632College TerraceNeighborhoodSanta Clara CountySan Francisco Bay AreaCalifornia321033AlpharettaTownFulton CountyAtlanta AreaGeorgia332534Ho-Ho-KusTownBergen CountyNew York City AreaNew Jersey344935PrincetonTownMercer CountyTrenton-PrincetonNew Jersey353536Audubon ParkNeighborhoodOrange CountyOrlando AreaFlorida36637Mid-CityNeighborhoodLos Angeles CountyLos Angeles AreaCalifornia372238Morningside/Lenox ParkNeighborhoodFulton CountyAtlanta AreaGeorgia383339North HighlandNeighborhoodArlington CountyWashington, D.C. AreaVirginia3930140SwarthmoreTownDelaware CountyPhiladelphia AreaPennsylvania4010341CoppellTownDallas CountyDallas-Fort Worth AreaTexas416042North BethesdaTownMontgomery CountyWashington, D.C. AreaMaryland421843FultonTownHoward CountyBaltimore AreaMaryland431444Los AlamosTownLos Alamos CountySanta Fe AreaNew Mexico449045Great Neck PlazaTownNassau CountyNew York City AreaNew York454646Holly HillsTownArapahoe CountyDenver AreaColorado464547Clarendon/CourthouseNeighborhoodArlington CountyWashington, D.C. AreaVirginia477548University SouthNeighborhoodSanta Clara CountySan Francisco Bay AreaCalifornia482649MeadowbrookTownShelby CountyBirmingham AreaAlabama493450Buckhead VillageNeighborhoodFulton CountyAtlanta AreaGeorgia50248(Courtesy: Niche) Niche found that the following states had the most entries in the top 100: Florida (13), Virginia (11), Texas (8), Georgia (8) and California (8). At a local level, some states made tremendous leaps in the rankings. City Center in Los Angeles was ranked 404 in 2024, but shot up to 5 a year later, thanks to a decline in its rent-to-income ratio, according to the American Community Survey. Niche gave Downtown Orange County, Florida a boost from 474 to 15, citing reductions in the following Health and Fitness subcategories: physical inactivity, smoking, being uninsured and obesity. Finally, Buckhead Village in the Atlanta area went from 677 to 51 based on improvements in housing affordability, public schools, cost of living and walkability. For the full rankings and the complete methodology, see the Niche website. ...read more read less