2025's 'best neighborhoods': Virginia, Florida cities fill the list

Restaurants in the Colonial Village Shopping Center near Gaslight Square on July 28, 2014 in Arlington Virginia. (Photo by Benjamin C. Tankersley/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

If you’re looking for the best neighborhoods in America, you may want to consider Virginia and Florida, according to the latest rankings from Niche.

Niche’s top 25 best neighborhoods in America fall in just a few states – with multiple cities boasting more than one neighborhood near the top of the list.

What makes a neighborhood great?

Big picture view:

According to Niche, the ‘Best Places to Live’ rankings take into account several factors, including the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, and access to amenities.

Niche also gathered 100 million reviews and survey responses from students, parents and residents, and used data from the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census and the FBI.

The Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit that works on building public spaces, says neighborhoods that are consistently seen as great and above average will include the following features, among others:

Sociability: Spots where you run into people you know, places where you take friends and family
A variety of activities
Attractive: Think "flowers, comfortable benches with a nice view," as opposed to a place that lacks amenities and may feel unwelcoming or threatening
Accessibility: A great neighborhood includes places that are "clearly identifiable from a distance, easy to enter when you get closer, and it is simple to understand how you use them."