When 51-year-old Pazit Aviv walks her dog in her Silver Spring, Md., neighborhood, it takes an extra 30 minutes as she inevitably gets lost in an impromptu chat with a neighbor.
“I know every single person in a three-street radius,” says Aviv, who has lived in the Washington, D.C., suburb for a decade and raised two children here. Silver Spring, which ranks No. 1 on this year’s Fortune Best Places to Live for Families, has been an ideal hometown for Aviv. It’s close enough to D.C. to enjoy the city’s many amenities, but Silver Spring has its own thriving arts and restaurant scene, plus high-performing schools. It’s the tight-knit community, however, that makes Aviv want to live here into old age. “We have meals together, and meal trains when a family has a baby or if someone is sick,” she says.
A great place to live not only supports families in the present, but also serves them in the long term. With a growing portion of Americans caring for both children and aging parents, more people want to live where multigenerational families can thrive.
It’s not just older adults who are taking the long view. Nearly one in five Gen X homebuyers purchased homes intended for multigenerational families last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Increasingly, first-time millennial and Gen Z homebuyers plan to stay in their homes for at least a decade.
“What we’re seeing is a longing of older people to age in place, and younger people, like Gen Z, to have a sense of place that they consider home,” says Jon Jon Wesolowski, an urbanist and housing advocate who sees more people eager to change their house to suit them as they age rather than to move.
In this year’s ranking, we analyzed over 2,000 cities and nearly 200 data categories, assessing livability, financial health, resources for aging adults, education, and wellness. The winners are communities that are sustainable for their youngest and oldest residents—including many fast-growing suburbs and edge cities that find creative ways to improve people’s well-being.
The Small-City Draw
According to the Census Bureau, some of the country’s fastest-growing places are edge cities or exurbs. Edge cities fill a gap for people priced out of busy metros, Wesolowski notes. They’re typically housing clusters defined by a city square or public park.
“What people are looking for is that balance of, ‘I can afford to live here, so I don’t have to work all the time, but then in my free time, there are actually people to connect with and things to do,’ ” he tells Fortune.
Smaller cities tend to prioritize social and community well-being more than urban centers do, says sociologist Michael Rickles, vice president of research at Sharecare.
Some of this year’s top places—including Chantilly, Va. (No. 3), and Morristown, N.J. (No. 9)—have fewer than 30,000 residents and scored among the highest on Sharecare’s Community Well-Being Index.
“There’s something to be said about the known limits of a small space, because you’re more comfortable in it, and you’re more likely to know who people are,” says Rickles.
Aging in Place
The number of hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted-living centers a city provides plays a role in determining whether it is a best place to live. But other key attributes, like a city’s social isolation risk, access to groceries, and walkability, are equally relevant.
Susann Crawford, a senior vice president at Caring.com, says aging-friendly cities offer amenities that will bolster residents’ quality of life and extend their health span.
“When we rate a good place, we try to ensure a true higher-quality lifestyle to make sure that people can have a longevity of [available resources], not just for a short time.”
Silver Spring Village is a prime example of how a city’s resources can help foster wellness among older adults. For a starting annual fee of $200, the nonprofit organizes social outings for members, from museum trips to shows at the local theater. Village volunteers provide hands-on support, from medical note-taking to transportation to the grocery store.
“Our focus is on sustaining a robust network of neighbors helping neighbors, to provide the kinds of practical support that allow older adults to continue living as independently as possible in their own homes and communities,” Doug Gaddis, executive director of Silver Spring Village, tells Fortune.
There are more than 300 communities nationwide that use this ‘village’ model—Montgomery County, which includes Silver Spring, is home to nearly 30. “It’s not professionals stepping in. It’s people down the street. It’s your neighbors who are also part of the village,” Gaddis says.
What Makes a City “Well”?
Experts say that all generations are increasingly drawn to places that support their health beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar health care model.
Sharecare has surveyed over 5 million Americans to date to calculate a city’s Community Well-Being Index, which Fortune factored into its analysis.
“We know that health isn’t just what’s happening inside your body,” says Rickles. “It’s your social connections, your perceptions of safety, and there’s a lot that goes into what makes a city well.” The index is a “person-centric” metric and considers social determinants of health, such as access to transportation, green spaces, parks, libraries, and community.
Young people in particular want to put down roots in accessible communities. “They aren’t outspoken about the yard and the white picket fence. They’re outspoken about walkability and the autonomy they could have by being able to meet the needs of their life within a 15- to 20-minute walk from their home,” Wesolowski says.
How connected people feel—particularly amid a continuing loneliness epidemic—is a critical pillar of wellness.
“Especially the folks who are aging remember a time when neighbors knew one another. They cared for each other, and you didn’t need to think too hard about it,” Aviv says. “Social infrastructure is not frivolous.”
Maybe the most comforting feature of her hometown, is that Aviv has a neighbor or family member to lean on if she needs support: “I can’t think of a more connected, meaningful way of living for me and my family.”
