According to the criteria used by Movoto Real Estate, Rockville, Maryland ranks among the top ten snobbiest small cities in America.  Palo Alto, California (in Silicon Valley) tops the list with our neighbor down the Pike, Bethesda, coming in second.  Is that good or bad company?  According to Movoto:

Tied with Encinitas [California], this Maryland locale had some seriously snooty stats keeping it in the ranking for best hometowns for the highbrow. For starters, locals can send their little ones to elite private schools, the fifth most per capita on our list. And once Junior has accrued all this handy knowledge,they can flex their artistically-inclined minds at one of the numerous art galleries or museums in the area.  More than that, people who live here are likely to continue on to academic greatness, with over 61 percent of the population gaining at least a college degree. With all of that education and study going on, is it any wonder that the elite locals make an average household income of almost $90,000?

California has the greatest number of snobbiest small cities (five, all of them along the Pacific coast)  and Maryland has the next most frequent number (two, both along the DC coast).  The ranking is based on median home price, median household income, percent of population with a college degree, number of private schools per capita, performing arts per capita, art galleries per capita, and fast food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better).  Of course, there’s nothing scientific here and these “top ten” rankings are just different ways to think about places.  Perhaps “snobbiest” isn’t the best term, indeed, Movoto clarifies the definition by describing them as places that are “just more comfortable for what society calls ‘snobby’ folks.”  If not “snobby,” based on our ranking on these criteria, what would you call it?