Photo by Reid Kasprowicz

Similar to other recent lists that have ranked the D.C. region as one of the best, happiest, and hippest places live in the country, the website Niche has named Arlington as the top place to live for millennials—based on “key factors” that measure “the appeal of an area” for the twenty- and thirty-somethings.

Niche, a site that produces “comprehensive rankings” that help “you discover the schools and neighborhoods that are right for you,” took into account things like access to food options, diversity among residents, the number of people with college degrees, and safety. It sourced its most of its data from the U.S. Census, but also other federal and local government sources.

After choosing the factors, Niche weighted each one in a manner that some might deem a recipe for gentrification.

It first took into account the percentage of residents between the ages of 25 and 34, which got a weight of 15 percent. So if millennials already live there, it must be good!

Then, access to bars, coffee shops, and restaurants, each received weights of 12.5 percent, meaning that nearly 40 percent of a city’s appeal for millennials is access to craft cocktails, flat whites, and avocado toast. The cost of living was weighted at just 10 percent.

In Dr. Derek Hyra’s study of gentrification in Shaw and U Street, he found that many white millennials flocked to the two neighborhoods in the early 2000s because of their proximity to places like bars, coffee shops, and restaurants. They were also drawn to the neighborhoods because they were more affordable, at the time, than living in downtown D.C.

In Niche’s considerations of what’s important to millennials, they placed ethnic, generational, and economic diversity at just 7.5 percent. Violent and property crime rates were 5 percent.

Hyra noted in his book, Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino City, that he encountered some newcomers who were less concerned about crime than long-term residents—they were even intrigued by robberies because it made them feel as if they lived in an “authentic” urban neighborhood.

And because of these differences, he wrote, micro-segregation is prevalent in the neighborhoods and people of different races, sexual orientations, and classes tend to stick together.

Niche’s authors looked at 228 U.S. cities for the list—Alexandria came in fourth and D.C. came in 12th.