The 10 Best Alexandria Suburbs To Live In For 2022


We analyzed over 33 places around Alexandria to identify the most kickass place to live.

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Editor’s Note: Data has been updated for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best Alexandria suburbs.

Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.

There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.

But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.

Of course, not all suburbs of Alexandria are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Alexandria for 2022:

  1. Falls Church
  2. University Park
  3. Vienna
  4. Poolesville
  5. Kensington
  6. Chesapeake Beach
  7. Rockville
  8. Bowie
  9. Washington
  10. Cheverly

What's the best suburb of Alexandria? Falls Church ranks as the best suburb of Alexandria for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Falls Church, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.

We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Alexandria 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.

Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.

Feel free to check out some more reading about Virginia:

The 10 Best Alexandria Suburbs To Live For 2022

Falls Church is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Alexandria area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Falls Church."

Everyone here is rich; families average $146,922 a year, which is the 4th highest in the Alexandria region. And only 4.44% are out of work. Homes average more than $810,900 each.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 14,309
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $146,922
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on Falls Church: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Falls Church, VA

University Park is the second best 'burb we looked at near Alexandria for 2022.

It ranks 3rd for incomes in the area and only 3.96% of residents lack insurance, good for 7th best.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,653
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 3)
Median Income: $154,896
Unemployment Rate: 0.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.3%
More on University Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos

University Park, MD

Source: Public domain

Here in Vienna, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Alexandria metro area.

The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.

But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Vienna.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 16,532
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $168,269
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Vienna: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Vienna, VA

Poolesville ranks as the 4th best suburb of Alexandria for 2022.

You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Poolesville and the schools are some of the best around.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,228
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $183,700
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 0.5%
More on Poolesville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Poolesville, MD

Coming in as the fifth best is Kensington.

Kensington gets kudos for having the 3rd most expensive homes in the Alexandria area, where houses sell for an average of $744,800. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,212
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 3)
Median Income: $126,162
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.6%
More on Kensington: Real Estate | Data

Chesapeake Beach is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.

Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 1.7% which is 2nd best in the area.

According to online reports, Chesapeake Beach is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Alexandria area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,996
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $111,379
Unemployment Rate: 1.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.6%
More on Chesapeake Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Chesapeake Beach, MD

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Rockville.

Rockville schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.

And, it's only 18.6 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 68,155
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Median Income: $111,797
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Rockville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Rockville, MD

Bowie is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.

A solid 3.66% of people lack insurance, good for 5th in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 58,158
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $116,796
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Bowie: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Bowie, MD

9. Washington

Is 'Everything Better In Washington?'

Almost.

It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 701,974
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Median Income: $90,842
Unemployment Rate: 7.1%
Poverty Rate: 15.5%
More on Washington: Real Estate | Photos

Washington, DC

Source: Public domain

And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Cheverly.

This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 6,439
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Median Income: $99,343
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 7.9%
More on Cheverly: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Cheverly, MD

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Alexandria for 2022

Figuring out the best suburbs around Alexandria was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

  • Low unemployment rate
  • High Median household incomes
  • Population density (lots of things to do)
  • High home values
  • A lot of college educated people
  • Low poverty
  • High rate of insured families

Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Alexandria.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 34 suburbs to evaluate around Alexandria.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 34 in each category, where 1 was the "best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Alexandria." We're lookin' at you, Falls Church. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.

Summary: Welcome to the Best Alexandria 'Burbs of 2022

We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.

So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Alexandria, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.

For more Virginia reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Alexandria Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Falls Church, VA 14,309 $146,922
2 University Park, VA 2,653 $154,896
3 Vienna, VA 16,532 $168,269
4 Poolesville, VA 5,228 $183,700
5 Kensington, VA 2,212 $126,162
6 Chesapeake Beach, VA 5,996 $111,379
7 Rockville, VA 68,155 $111,797
8 Bowie, VA 58,158 $116,796
9 Washington, VA 701,974 $90,842
10 Cheverly, VA 6,439 $99,343
11 La Plata, VA 9,516 $94,755
12 Herndon, VA 24,577 $112,644
13 Takoma Park, VA 17,703 $83,919
14 Fairfax, VA 23,312 $109,708
15 Glenarden, VA 6,158 $87,917
16 Gaithersburg, VA 67,878 $91,845
17 Berwyn Heights, VA 3,256 $115,750
18 Mount Rainier, VA 8,149 $57,200
19 Hyattsville, VA 18,267 $80,618
20 Manassas Park, VA 17,548 $81,639
21 Manassas, VA 41,038 $86,227
22 Laurel, VA 25,734 $80,255
23 Indian Head, VA 3,803 $64,180
24 Forest Heights, VA 2,739 $96,111
25 New Carrollton, VA 12,925 $70,776
26 College Park, VA 32,221 $68,825
27 Capitol Heights, VA 4,505 $72,209
28 Riverdale Park, VA 7,216 $84,695
29 Brentwood, VA 3,443 $80,737
30 Seat Pleasant, VA 4,753 $53,532
31 Landover Hills, VA 2,043 $73,750
32 Greenbelt, VA 23,253 $71,744
33 Bladensburg, VA 9,428 $50,390
34 Dumfries, VA 5,559 $68,438

How Is Your Town In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.