Alexandria city, VA

County Profile

156,976 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Alexandria city, VA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 43% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 29% of 1,463 counties measured65
Schools1,241st of 1,377 counties measured17
GrowthTop 31% of 1,453 counties measured61
Housing affordability1,147th of 1,462 counties measured64
ClimateTop 36% of 1,463 counties measured72
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 1,463 counties measured62
AccessTop 24% of 1,463 counties measured91
Economic stabilityTop 6% of 1,463 counties measured91
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $119,681, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 69% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.2 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.1 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
156,976
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$119,681
Top 2% nationally
Density
10,511/sq mi
14.9 sq mi of land
Median age
37.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Alexandria city
Virginia
Nearest major airport
IAD
22 mi · Washington Dulles Intl
Median home value
$735,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 84% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 2.4% over the past year, to 96,600 employed residents.

66% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 99% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $119,681 is higher than in 98% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$96,64791st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$105,72497th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,8192024 ACS 5-Year$119,681Top 2%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4262024 ACS 5-Year$79,474Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$115,627Top 2%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%Top 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.8 minBottom 20%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year66.2%Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year48.3%1st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202696,600Top 24%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.9%Bottom 16%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.4%Bottom 16%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202699,75076th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year90.0%Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year12.1%99th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 40%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year28.9%99th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.52.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024120k105k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $119,681 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers112,530$156,460
Business Operations Specialists, All Other76,600$104,770
Software Developers69,060$154,930
Retail Salespersons66,920$36,610
Management Analysts62,360$126,830
Fast Food and Counter Workers60,560$34,600

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

69% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 69% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 18 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
20
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across 18 of them
Math proficiency
68.6%
Bottom 6% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
69.1%
Bottom 16% in Virginia
The 12 largest of 20 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Alexandria City HighAlexandria City Public Schools4,65515.364%77%
Francis C. Hammond MiddleAlexandria City Public Schools1,59713.466%60%
George Washington MiddleAlexandria City Public Schools1,45814.274%73%
Patrick Henry K-8 SchoolAlexandria City Public Schools1,07517.976%74%
Mount Vernon ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools93318.362%57%
James K. Polk ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools80417.176%67%
John Adams ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools74315.276%64%
Samuel W. Tucker ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools73517.177%74%
William Ramsay ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools68915.355%43%
Douglas MacArthur ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools68016.276%72%
Ferdinand T. Day ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools58916.447%52%
Charles Barrett ElementaryAlexandria City Public Schools54714.480%80%

67.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Virginia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 109.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division is up 34% over five years, and up 2.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $7,024 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.96% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,246, some 8% above the $2,089 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,246 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $89,800 a year, about 75% of the median household income here of $119,681.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,089 a month.

A median home at $735,100 costs 4.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $180,941, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
109.5

Prices here run about 10% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,246
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,089
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$735,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Alexandria city’s median household income of $119,681, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2023109.5Bottom 8%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+2.6%27th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+33.9%14th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+67.3%11th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year4.1Bottom 11%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year42.1%1st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1002024 ACS 5-Year80,84488th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,015Bottom 3%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,835Bottom 5%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,246Bottom 4%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$322024 ACS 5-Year$2,089Bottom 1%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$22,2472024 ACS 5-Year$735,10099th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2422024 ACS 5-Year$7,02499th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,3842024 ACS 5-Year$180,941Top 1%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.96%62nd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year28.3%Bottom 45%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1612024 ACS 5-Year36751st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%10th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%20th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5622024 ACS 5-Year4,74879th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

61/ 100
Top 31% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 159,102 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — against 22 the year before.

95% of the 609 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Alexandria city lost about 1.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $96,647, below the $105,724 of households that moved out.

At 3.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
609
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.9
Top 38% nationally
Year over year
+2668%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
95.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024159k155k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
55%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$96,647
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$105,724
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fairfax County, VA 3,753 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Arlington County, VA 2,023 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. District of Columbia, DC 1,608 people · 9.0% of arrivals
  4. Prince George's County, MD 786 people · 4.4% of arrivals
  5. Prince William County, VA 754 people · 4.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fairfax County, VA 5,542 people · 28% of departures
  2. Arlington County, VA 1,552 people · 7.9% of departures
  3. Prince William County, VA 1,322 people · 6.7% of departures
  4. Prince George's County, MD 982 people · 5.0% of departures
  5. District of Columbia, DC 753 people · 3.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k17
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−84%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.8 inches, including 13.7 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WASHINGTON REAGAN AP, 3.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals13.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

62 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 66% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Strong windModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneModerate
Coastal floodingModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, lightning, winter weather, hail, ice storm, landslide, wildfire, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Alexandria city has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.6 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 9.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 7.5 per 100,000 residents in Alexandria city.

Homicide
3.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
7.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
11.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Alexandria city as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Washington Dulles Intl at 22 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year94.1%Top 5%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle22 miTop 29%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%Top 6%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Washington Dulles IntlIAD22 mi11,500 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI33 mi10,503 ft
Dover AFBDOV89 mi9,602 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
61
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Alexandria city, VA

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.