Are you sick of being a city slicker?
Do you long for life in suburban Virginia? Where you can drive an overly-large vehicle to the store for groceries and schlep the kids around to practices and appointments without worrying about a parking space.
We do, too.
If you wanted to move out to the suburbs in Virginia, where would you go? And how would you decide on the ranking factors to help you pick which Virginia suburb was best?
No worries. We got it all figured out here using Saturday Night Science.
$216,953 median income · $1,179,673 median home price
Located in
Fairfax County, Virginia
Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to the north, and Hunter Mill road to the west.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$143,262 median income · $789,604 median home price
Located in
Falls Church city, Virginia
Falls Church is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,332. The estimated population in 2015 was 13,892. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Falls Church has the lowest level of poverty of any independent city or county in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$145,205 median income · $865,517 median home price
Located in
Loudoun County, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town within and the county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia. Leesburg is 33 miles west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according to the 2010 Census is 42,616. The town is also the northwestern terminus of the Dulles Greenway, a private toll road that connects to the Dulles Toll Road at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$120,972 median income · $462,480 median home price
Located in
Poquoson city, Virginia
Poquoson is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,150. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Poquoson with surrounding York County for statistical purposes.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$113,158 median income · $393,349 median home price
Located in
Isle of Wight County, Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$119,681 median income · $676,205 median home price
Located in
Alexandria city, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 139,966, and in 2016, the population was estimated to be 155,810. Located along the western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately 7 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$132,348 median income · $792,535 median home price
Located in
Fairfax city, Virginia
Fairfax, colloquially Central Fairfax, Downtown Fairfax, Fairfax City, or the City of Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census the population was 22,565, which had risen to an estimated 24,013 as of 2015.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$148,000 median income · $740,680 median home price
Located in
Fairfax County, Virginia
Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area of the United States. The population was 23,292 at the 2010 census, which makes it the largest of three incorporated towns in the county.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$82,355 median income · $596,416 median home price
Dumfries, officially the Town of Dumfries, is a town in Prince William County, Virginia. The population was 4,961 at the 2010 United States Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$103,250 median income · $462,197 median home price
Located in
Manassas Park city, Virginia
Manassas Park is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,273. Manassas Park is bordered by the city of Manassas and Prince William County. Manassas Park is a part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. “A” Fort and Battery Hill Redoubt-Camp Early resides in Manassas Park.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Virginia’s statewide median.
Virginia statewide median: $93,170
Virginia statewide median: $412,467
On the map
Where Virginia’s best suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we crunched the suburb numbers for the Old Dominion
We have to use Saturday Night Science and look at several metrics to give you the best suburbs in Virginia. We want to measure the type of place around major cities that people arguing at a bar would say makes it the “best suburb.”
First, we had to define a suburb. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of Virginia, we looked at every town with at least 2,000 residents, and within 30 miles of a city that’s over 200,000 people.
In other words, suburbs.
We paid particular attention to the following criteria:
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Population Density (Higher is Better)
- Unemployment Rates
- Commute Time
- Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We ranked each suburb in Virginia across these criteria from one to 20, with one being the best.
We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the town posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Suburb To Live In Virginia.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and ideal places to live in Virginia.
Read on to see why Vienna is the ‘burb with the most, while Petersburg is probably not the best place to live in Virginia.
The full plate
The Best Suburbs In Virginia
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna | 16,412 | $216,953 | $1,179,673 |
| 2 | Falls Church | 14,710 | $143,262 | $789,604 |
| 3 | Leesburg | 49,171 | $145,205 | $865,517 |
| 4 | Poquoson | 12,639 | $120,972 | $462,480 |
| 5 | Smithfield | 8,834 | $113,158 | $393,349 |
| 6 | Alexandria | 156,976 | $119,681 | $676,205 |
| 7 | Fairfax | 25,026 | $132,348 | $792,535 |
| 8 | Herndon | 24,672 | $148,000 | $740,680 |
| 9 | Dumfries | 5,816 | $82,355 | $596,416 |
| 10 | Manassas Park | 16,798 | $103,250 | $462,197 |
| 12 | Manassas | 42,976 | $113,590 | $557,119 |
| 12 | Windsor | 2,852 | $68,661 | $339,286 |
| 12 | Colonial Heights | 18,352 | $76,505 | $294,925 |
| 14 | Hampton | 137,557 | $69,621 | $275,341 |
| 15 | Suffolk | 98,796 | $92,666 | $384,301 |
| 16 | Newport News | 184,216 | $69,634 | $290,660 |
| 17 | Ashland | 7,772 | $61,164 | $463,340 |
| 18 | Portsmouth | 97,190 | $60,491 | $260,462 |
| 19 | Hopewell | 22,959 | $54,729 | $232,749 |
| 20 | Petersburg | 33,537 | $50,698 | $245,998 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS via Saturday Night Science. 20 Virginia suburbs within 30 miles of a city over 200,000.
Summary
Summary: There You Have It – The Best Suburbs In Virginia
If you’re measuring the locations in Virginia where there are lots to do, and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
The best suburbs in Virginia are Vienna, Falls Church, Leesburg, Poquoson, Smithfield, Alexandria, Fairfax, Herndon, Dumfries, and Manassas Park.
