SOMEONE ONCE REFERRED to Bethesda
as “big city, small town.” It’s an apt description.
Bethesda, which is actually unincorporated, has
many of the attributes of a big city—a bustling
downtown, an educated and sophisticated populace,
a striking number and variety of restaurants,
and world-class cultural venues. (The flip side is
that it also has bad traffic, limited parking and
expensive housing.) But Bethesda in many ways
still feels like a small town: People recognize each
other on the street, and there are dozens of leafy
neighborhoods and a strong sense of community.
The 2015 completion of a major development
project— 11 years in the making—on what had
been a public parking lot sparked a fresh vitality in
Bethesda, adding new shops, restaurants and high-end housing to a bustling downtown. Meanwhile,
construction cranes dot the downtown Bethesda
area as upscale condo and apartment complexes
continue to rise, meeting a demand for close-in
living and easy access to shops, dining and mass
transportation.
P
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OTO
BY
MIC
HA
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VE
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U
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Bethesda
IMAGINATION
BETHESDA
Families take over Auburn and
Norfolk avenues in downtown
Bethesda for this celebration of
children, art and “all things fun”
that offers plenty of activity tents
and live entertainment.
TASTE OF
BETHESDA
This event attracts tens of
thousands of people to sample
the food of 60 or so restaurants,
with five stages for live
entertainment.
Don’t Miss
JUNE OCTOBER
EDUCATION
High school graduate
or higher (persons age 25+)
98.7%
Bachelor’s degree or
higher (persons age 25+)
83%
INCOME
Median household
income $144,772
HOUSING
Median value of owner-
occupied housing units
$840,500
COMMUTE
Mean travel time to work
(workers age 16+) 29. 2 minutes
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
#1 “MOST EDUCATED PLACES
IN AMERICA”
Nerdwallet.com in 2016
#100 “TOP 100 BEST PLACES
TO LIVE”
Livability.com
POPULATION 60,858
