Upon review, Washington County stacks up well

When it comes to national rankings, Washington County more than holds its own — regardless of what is being measured.

In the latest accolade that may either bolster the county's bragging rights or merely confirm what residents already know, the real estate blog movoto.com ranked Washington County No. 7 among its 10 best counties nationwide.

In a list dominated by eight East Coast counties, Washington was the only Minnesota county to crack the top 10. Dakota County was the only other Minnesota representative to make the top 50, ranking 37th.

The methodology of such rankings can sometimes be suspect, but movoto crunched six factors from the 2010 census: unemployment rates, median household incomes, median rents (higher rates indicate an area's desirability), median home prices, percent of families below the poverty line, and high school graduation rates.

Out of 640 counties with all that available data, here is what the folks at movoto concluded about Washington County:

"Our only top 10 county in Minnesota, this one's home to some comfy and rather brainy folks.

"Why brainy? Well, because 96 percent of folks here graduate high school, the fourth-most on our list, and many go on to get higher degrees. Knowledge is power, right?

"The other stats for these parts are pretty solid, too. This county had the 25th-highest household income, and the 26th-lowest poverty. On top of that, the home prices here were quite affordable, ranking 111th on our list.

"With that in mind, this county might be a great way to get some serious bang for your buck if you're looking for quality without premium prices."

Movoto also ranked the top 10 cities in Minnesota in which to live. Two cities in Washington County made the list; Hugo ranked No. 5, and Woodbury came in tied at ninth.

Hugo was cited for its high median rent prices, and low unemployment and crime rates. Woodbury was noted for a high school diploma attainment rate of 96 percent and high median household income.

Even though such rankings can be subjective, there are further signs that as outsiders judge the numbers, Washington County looks pretty good.

Earlier this summer, U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington County 34th nationwide among its "50 Healthiest Counties for Kids."

Olmsted County (home to Rochester and the Mayo Clinic), at 19th, was the only other county in Minnesota that made the top rankings, which weighed factors like birth weights, teen birthrates and children living in poverty.

A more in-depth look at Washington County's health by the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute this year came to a similarly encouraging conclusion: the county ranked eighth among the 87 in Minnesota in health outcomes — data gauging both length and quality of life — and second in health factors, which take into account things like health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the environment.

Washington County was ranked second in the state in healthy behaviors like not smoking, and availability of clinical care and environmental factors like advanced education and employment rates.

And now that the County Board is knee-deep in its budget deliberations, consider that smartasset.com, a financial advisory website, gave Washington County high marks in its tax value rankings — weighing property tax rates against how well schools perform and the rate of local crime.

Among counties nationwide with populations of more than 50,000 that have available data, Washington County ranked ninth in Minnesota and 187th nationally in tax value, earning a B grade. Five other counties in Minnesota rated an A.

The county lost points for a higher-than-average property tax rate per capita — $824 vs. $675 nationally — but had significantly lower crime and better schools.

Speaking of which, U.S. News & World Report ranked three high schools in Washington County among the top 20 in the state: Mahtomedi ranked second (224th nationwide, a "gold" ranking), Woodbury Senior High School was ninth (611th nationally, good for "silver") and East Ridge High School was 18th (917th, also "silver").

Given all that, it may come as no surprise that Washington County ranked the best among Minnesota counties in a recent New York Times ranking of "Easiest Places to Live," coming in 23rd out of 3,135 counties nationwide.

That study looked at six data points, including median income (Washington County's was $80,747), life expectancy (81.2 years) and obesity rates (31 percent).

Jim Anderson • 651-925-5039 Twitter: @StribJAnderson