These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Virginia

By Chris Kolmar
Jun. 27, 2016

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What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something bigger–something wholly unnamable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in Virginia. And here they are:

  1. Vienna
  2. Purcellville
  3. Falls Church
  4. Leesburg
  5. Herndon
  6. Poquoson
  7. Bridgewater
  8. Manassas Park
  9. Alexandria
  10. Fairfax

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. There’s a method to this madness.

For more VA reading, check out:

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In Virginia

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success is–money. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think there’s a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Vienna

Source: Flickr

Population: 16,173Median Income: $133,776
Poverty Level: 3.2%
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%

2. Purcellville

Population: 8,350Median Income: $120,331
Poverty Level: 4.5%
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%

3. Falls Church

Population: 13,074Median Income: $120,500
Poverty Level: 4.1%
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%

4. Leesburg

Population: 46,211Median Income: $101,719
Poverty Level: 4.8%
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

5. Herndon

Population: 24,141Median Income: $100,399
Poverty Level: 7.2%
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

6. Poquoson

Population: 12,103Median Income: $83,460
Poverty Level: 6.0%
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

7. Bridgewater

Population: 5,812Median Income: $54,188
Poverty Level: 8.0%
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%

8. Manassas Park

Population: 14,992Median Income: $73,460
Poverty Level: 8.2%
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%

9. Alexandria

Population: 146,422Median Income: $87,319
Poverty Level: 7.7%
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

10. Fairfax

Population: 23,507Median Income: $100,584
Poverty Level: 9.4%
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%

Measuring Success

If you’re still looking at this post thinking, “Surely, such superficial methods can’t possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that city’s success!” well, you’re probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Vienna and our winners. And for those who didn’t make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In Virginia

Rank City Median Income Poverty Rate Unemployment Rate
1 Vienna $133,776 3.2% 3.6%
2 Purcellville $120,331 4.5% 3.6%
3 Falls Church $120,500 4.1% 5.0%
4 Leesburg $101,719 4.8% 4.7%
5 Herndon $100,399 7.2% 4.7%
6 Poquoson $83,460 6.0% 4.7%
7 Bridgewater $54,188 8.0% 2.9%
8 Manassas Park $73,460 8.2% 3.7%
9 Alexandria $87,319 7.7% 4.7%
10 Fairfax $100,584 9.4% 5.5%
11 Warrenton $73,062 8.0% 5.5%
12 Christiansburg $51,508 11.6% 3.6%
13 Virginia Beach $67,001 7.2% 6.2%
14 Chesapeake $70,176 8.0% 7.6%
15 Strasburg $45,975 11.5% 5.0%
16 Manassas $71,215 10.1% 8.0%
17 Salem $50,590 12.4% 5.9%
18 Colonial Heights $52,529 9.5% 7.2%
19 Suffolk $66,822 8.9% 8.9%
20 Smithfield $68,807 10.4% 10.1%
21 Culpeper $54,791 14.7% 7.2%
22 Vinton $43,623 13.2% 6.5%
23 Charlottesville $47,218 31.4% 5.0%
24 Ashland $41,582 14.4% 6.5%
25 Covington $38,176 23.1% 5.1%
26 Staunton $39,982 17.3% 6.4%
27 Winchester $44,731 16.7% 7.2%
28 Dumfries $57,111 9.3% 14.1%
29 Newport News $51,000 13.4% 9.6%
30 Williamsburg $48,057 24.9% 6.2%
31 Lexington $36,840 26.8% 5.1%
32 Front Royal $46,609 13.7% 9.4%
33 Hampton $49,879 13.6% 10.5%
34 Waynesboro $45,499 19.4% 7.8%
35 Woodstock $35,508 26.7% 5.5%
36 Portsmouth $46,239 15.4% 10.5%
37 Roanoke $39,530 20.5% 8.0%
38 Fredericksburg $49,454 19.9% 10.4%
39 Abingdon $38,529 20.1% 8.0%
40 Harrisonburg $38,807 38.2% 6.8%
41 Bluefield $42,472 13.7% 11.9%
42 Richlands $34,781 19.0% 8.1%
43 Pulaski $36,057 24.8% 7.5%
44 Buena Vista $32,789 22.4% 7.8%
45 Norfolk $44,150 18.6% 11.6%
46 Galax $30,430 22.3% 8.2%
47 Hopewell $39,156 16.4% 13.7%
48 Big Stone Gap $37,165 26.0% 8.8%
49 Richmond $41,331 23.5% 10.7%
50 Lynchburg $39,391 25.5% 9.6%
51 Marion $29,900 22.8% 8.2%
52 Bristol $33,616 17.9% 11.0%
53 Wytheville $32,637 21.0% 11.3%
54 Blacksburg $29,271 52.9% 8.8%
55 Radford $30,284 47.6% 9.4%
56 Franklin $33,133 24.4% 14.0%
57 Petersburg $33,927 24.3% 15.1%
58 Danville $32,173 24.3% 14.7%
59 South Boston $30,764 30.2% 12.4%
60 Farmville $28,667 39.7% 10.6%
61 Martinsville $27,746 25.7% 14.2%
62 Emporia $30,240 30.0% 17.2%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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Topics: Rankings