You either have to win the lottery or be a descendant of one of Virginia’s many notables, like Warren Beatty, to live in one of the wealthiest cities in the Old Dominion. The richest cities in Virginia are expensive.
You’ll need a salary of over $90,000/year to fit in. Not to mention the cities on our list are centralized around Washington D. C. Cities like Vienna and Alexandria are the playground of Virginia’s rich and famous with great parks, schools, and shopping.
To create this list, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the latest Census and Zillow data on incomes and home prices. We limited the analysis to 78 Virginia cities with more than 3,000 residents.
Wealthy people want to live in the best cities, so it’s not lost on us that there are multiple cities on our ten best cities to live in Virginia for 2024 that are also on our richest list.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Richest Places In Virginia For 2024
We used Saturday Night Science to analyze the latest Census and Zillow data on incomes and home prices. We limited the analysis to 78 Virginia cities with more than 3,000 residents.
What’s the richest city in Virginia? The richest city in Virginia is Vienna.
Pull up a chair, put on your spectacles, and read on to learn more about the wealthiest places in Virginia.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Virginia:
The 10 Richest Cities In Virginia For 2024
1. Vienna
/10
Population: 16,401
Median Income: $215,556
Median Home Values: $1,007,468
More on Vienna: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
2. Purcellville
/10
Population: 8,928
Median Income: $150,333
Median Home Values: $788,454
More on Purcellville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
3. Falls Church
/10
Population: 14,576
Median Income: $164,536
Median Home Values: $693,453
More on Falls Church: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
4. Leesburg
/10
Population: 48,465
Median Income: $132,298
Median Home Values: $757,521
More on Leesburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
5. Fairfax
/10
Population: 24,242
Median Income: $128,708
Median Home Values: $702,237
More on Fairfax: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
6. Herndon
/10
Population: 24,456
Median Income: $133,403
Median Home Values: $679,629
More on Herndon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
7. Alexandria
/10
Population: 157,594
Median Income: $113,179
Median Home Values: $611,500
More on Alexandria: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
8. Manassas
/10
Population: 42,620
Median Income: $110,559
Median Home Values: $514,283
More on Manassas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
9. Poquoson
/10
Population: 12,479
Median Income: $114,503
Median Home Values: $419,118
More on Poquoson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
10. Berryville
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Virginia For 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is simply identifying personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places.” So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey and applied Saturday Night Science:
- Median Home Values
- Median Household Income
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is. And home values are a measure of wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”
After we collected the data for all 78 places with more than 3,000 people in Virginia, we ranked each place from 1 to 78 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score,” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Vienna, crowned the “Richest City In Virginia For 2024.”
The data has been updated for 2024. This is our tenth time ranking the wealthiest cities in Virginia.
You can skip to the end to see the rankings for all 78 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Virginia For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Virginia, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Virginia.
The richest cities in Virginia are Vienna, Purcellville, Falls Church, Leesburg, Fairfax, Herndon, Alexandria, Manassas, Poquoson, and Berryville.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Virginia, according to data:
Poorest: Richlands
2nd Poorest: Norton
3rd Poorest: Clifton Forge
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Best Places To Live In Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In Virginia
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Virginia
| Rank | City | RichScore | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna | 1.0 | $215,556 | $1,007,468 |
| 2 | Purcellville | 2.5 | $150,333 | $788,454 |
| 3 | Falls Church | 3.5 | $164,536 | $693,453 |
| 4 | Leesburg | 4.0 | $132,298 | $757,521 |
| 5 | Fairfax | 5.0 | $128,708 | $702,237 |
| 6 | Herndon | 5.0 | $133,403 | $679,629 |
| 7 | Alexandria | 7.5 | $113,179 | $611,500 |
| 8 | Manassas | 9.5 | $110,559 | $514,283 |
| 9 | Poquoson | 11.0 | $114,503 | $419,118 |
| 10 | Berryville | 12.5 | $91,089 | $496,933 |
| 11 | Warrenton | 13.0 | $83,737 | $605,326 |
| 12 | Manassas Park | 14.5 | $91,673 | $410,921 |
| 13 | Dumfries | 14.5 | $75,629 | $537,443 |
| 14 | Smithfield | 16.0 | $101,081 | $360,172 |
| 15 | Fredericksburg | 16.0 | $83,445 | $429,414 |
| 16 | Chesapeake | 16.5 | $92,703 | $374,172 |
| 17 | Culpeper | 17.0 | $86,940 | $404,059 |
| 18 | Virginia Beach | 18.0 | $87,544 | $384,137 |
| 19 | Charlottesville | 19.0 | $67,177 | $460,428 |
| 20 | Suffolk | 19.5 | $87,758 | $346,835 |
| 21 | Lexington | 20.5 | $93,651 | $313,583 |
| 22 | Williamsburg | 20.5 | $66,815 | $422,921 |
| 23 | Bridgewater | 24.5 | $72,051 | $340,657 |
| 24 | West Point | 27.5 | $72,305 | $294,554 |
| 25 | Winchester | 28.5 | $62,495 | $356,203 |
| 26 | Ashland | 29.0 | $58,904 | $394,438 |
| 27 | Front Royal | 30.0 | $62,735 | $339,972 |
| 28 | Woodstock | 30.5 | $64,470 | $305,557 |
| 29 | Christiansburg | 31.0 | $71,468 | $278,006 |
| 30 | Colonial Heights | 32.5 | $72,216 | $268,411 |
| 31 | Richmond | 33.0 | $59,606 | $328,655 |
| 32 | Salem | 33.5 | $68,402 | $268,647 |
| 33 | Broadway | 36.0 | $62,123 | $281,323 |
| 34 | Norfolk | 36.0 | $60,998 | $284,301 |
| 35 | Orange | 37.0 | $59,196 | $285,053 |
| 36 | Vinton | 37.5 | $65,481 | $249,931 |
| 37 | Hampton | 38.0 | $64,430 | $251,468 |
| 38 | Newport News | 38.0 | $63,355 | $263,687 |
| 39 | Staunton | 38.5 | $59,731 | $275,801 |
| 40 | Strasburg | 38.5 | $56,244 | $311,196 |
| 41 | Harrisonburg | 39.0 | $56,050 | $316,643 |
| 42 | Shenandoah | 40.0 | $64,410 | $244,740 |
| 43 | Colonial Beach | 41.5 | $55,731 | $297,211 |
| 44 | Blacksburg | 43.0 | $42,012 | $389,094 |
| 45 | Chincoteague | 44.0 | $46,319 | $342,068 |
| 46 | Abingdon | 46.5 | $56,164 | $263,435 |
| 47 | Waynesboro | 46.5 | $52,519 | $277,470 |
| 48 | Rocky Mount | 47.5 | $58,678 | $236,629 |
| 49 | Portsmouth | 47.5 | $57,154 | $238,266 |
| 50 | Lynchburg | 48.5 | $56,243 | $242,735 |
| 51 | Franklin | 49.0 | $57,537 | $212,203 |
| 52 | Luray | 49.5 | $50,327 | $275,610 |
| 53 | Roanoke | 51.5 | $51,523 | $247,891 |
| 54 | South Hill | 53.5 | $56,250 | $176,721 |
| 55 | Blackstone | 53.5 | $56,898 | $176,001 |
| 56 | Radford | 53.5 | $51,039 | $239,703 |
| 57 | Hopewell | 57.0 | $50,661 | $209,023 |
| 58 | Petersburg | 58.5 | $46,930 | $227,187 |
| 59 | Pulaski | 59.0 | $55,213 | $145,235 |
| 60 | Lebanon | 60.0 | $50,287 | $179,701 |
| 61 | Bristol | 62.0 | $45,250 | $191,989 |
| 62 | Buena Vista | 62.5 | $48,783 | $166,310 |
| 63 | Farmville | 62.5 | $39,233 | $237,401 |
| 64 | Big Stone Gap | 63.5 | $52,663 | $123,719 |
| 65 | Bluefield | 63.5 | $53,162 | $122,214 |
| 66 | Wytheville | 64.5 | $39,459 | $197,791 |
| 67 | Altavista | 65.0 | $39,761 | $184,897 |
| 68 | Galax | 65.5 | $44,612 | $162,413 |
| 69 | South Boston | 66.0 | $49,654 | $128,262 |
| 70 | Covington | 67.5 | $45,737 | $129,579 |
| 71 | Danville | 68.5 | $41,484 | $137,067 |
| 72 | Emporia | 69.5 | $41,442 | $132,687 |
| 73 | Marion | 71.0 | $37,337 | $144,743 |
| 74 | Tazewell | 71.0 | $36,928 | $149,296 |
| 75 | Martinsville | 74.5 | $39,127 | $117,492 |
| 76 | Clifton Forge | 75.5 | $32,007 | $124,371 |
| 77 | Norton | 76.0 | $36,974 | $105,021 |
| 78 | Richlands | 77.5 | $35,959 | $100,563 |