One of those websites that ranks cities along arbitrary metrics has decided that Washington is the third-best US city for millennials, the generation of young people that marketing professionals and baby-boomer newspaper editors can’t stop talking about. And according to the new list, the best part of town isn’t even in town. It’s Clarendon, a section of Arlington known for its heavy concentration of bros.
The ranking comes from Niche.com, a website that compiles rankings of municipalities and schools, and in the case of millennials, reviewed cities according to income, housing prices, crime rates, and percentage of people with a college diploma, along with less statistically sound things like professional sports teams and nightlife.
Fifteen percent of the Washington area’s population is between 25 and 34 years of age, Niche found. But in Clarendon, that demographic accounts for a staggering 53 percent of the population. They live in places like the “METAL HOUSE,” a four-story domicile that was rented out last September to tenants seeking a haven for keggers and flip cup tournaments.
Why else is Clarendon perfect for millennials, Niche.com reasons? Forty-eight percent of its residents hold master’s degrees, the median household income is $108,132, and the median rent is $1,788 a month. By contrast, the median rent for all of Washington is measured at $1,353.
Looks like it’s time for people born after 1980 to get out of Mt. Pleasant and H Street and head across the river to Clarendon, home of popped collars and expensive apartments that double as beer pong arenas.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
