Culpeper, Virginia

Area Profile

20,794 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Culpeper, in Culpeper County.

58out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 48% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 50% of 4,199 cities measured56
Schools2,902nd of 4,162 cities measured34
Growth2,271st of 4,224 cities measured48
Housing affordabilityTop 15% of 4,218 cities measured79
Climate2,352nd of 4,225 cities measured69
Physical resilience2,156th of 4,226 cities measured57
Access3,554th of 4,226 cities measured75
Economic stabilityTop 40% of 4,226 cities measured63
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.3% and median household income $94,721, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Culpeper County, VA, which contains Culpeper, rather than for Culpeper alone.

In the public schools here, 81% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.3 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 270 units authorized over the past twelve months, 41% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Culpeper County, VA, which contains Culpeper, rather than for Culpeper alone.

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
20,794
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$94,721
Top 21% nationally
Density
2,757/sq mi
7.5 sq mi of land
Median age
32.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Virginia
Nearest major airport
IAD
44 mi · Washington Dulles Intl
Median home value
$390,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Culpeper County, VA, which contains Culpeper, is 3.3%, lower than in 87% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Culpeper County, VA, which contains Culpeper, fell 2.4% over the past year, to 27,084 employed residents.

31% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 70% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCulpeper County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$75,92656th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCulpeper County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,14135th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$11,9722024 ACS 5-Year$94,721Top 21%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1402024 ACS 5-Year$37,739Top 38%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year11.7%Bottom 46%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.0 minBottom 19%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year30.7%Top 30%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year65.2%19th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentCulpeper County, VA’s figureJuly 202627,084Bottom 32%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Culpeper County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−4.1%Bottom 7%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Culpeper County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−2.4%Bottom 14%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceCulpeper County, VA’s figureJuly 202628,00832nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.9%Top 28%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$91,930Top 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,060Top 8%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%88th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Culpeper County, VA’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Bottom 29%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateCulpeper County, VA’s figureJuly 20263.3%Top 13%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%62nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202495k80k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $94,721 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Culpeper County, VA, which contains this city.

81% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 75% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
80.8%
Bottom 32% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
74.6%
Bottom 26% in Virginia
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Eastern View HighCulpeper County Public Schools1,52916.180%86%
Culpeper County HighCulpeper County Public Schools1,20416.174%79%
Culpeper MiddleCulpeper County Public Schools1,04014.285%76%
Floyd T. Binns MiddleCulpeper County Public Schools82513.183%75%
Emerald Hill ElementaryCulpeper County Public Schools70216.385%76%
Sycamore Park ElementaryCulpeper County Public Schools68915.374%61%
Yowell ElementaryCulpeper County Public Schools68717.287%75%
Pearl Sample ElementaryCulpeper County Public Schools68015.874%58%
A.G. Richardson ElementaryCulpeper County Public Schools56315.287%71%
Farmington ElementaryCulpeper County Public Schools45314.685%67%
Galbreath-Marshall BuildingCulpeper County Public Schools99.0——

64.8% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,139 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.55% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,423, close to the $1,416 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,423 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,900 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $94,721.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,416 a month.

A median home at $390,000 costs 3.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $115,284, 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
25.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,423
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,416
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$390,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Culpeper’s median household income of $94,721, 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 27%of 3,7002023
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.4Bottom 26%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year59.2%19th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3892024 ACS 5-Year7,13791st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,170Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,978Top 41%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,423Top 36%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$892024 ACS 5-Year$1,416Bottom 22%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,6152024 ACS 5-Year$390,00082nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1442024 ACS 5-Year$2,13959th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,2882024 ACS 5-Year$115,284Top 18%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.55%15th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year25.4%Top 35%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±252024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%23rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±982024 ACS 5-Year16374th percentileof 32,3302024 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

48/ 100
Ranks 2,271 of 4,224 published city profiles

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 grown 6% since 2020, reaching 21,464 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 270 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Culpeper County, VA, which contains Culpeper, rather than for Culpeper alone.

Federal tax returns show Culpeper County, which contains Culpeper, gained about 1.0% 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 $75,926, above the $65,141 of households that moved out.

At 5.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Culpeper County, VA, which contains Culpeper, rather than for Culpeper alone.

Units permitted
270
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.0
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
−41%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202421k20k
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 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
26%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$75,926
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,141
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Prince William County, VA 454 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. Fauquier County, VA 410 people · 13% of arrivals
  3. Fairfax County, VA 257 people · 8.3% of arrivals
  4. Orange County, VA 152 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  5. Spotsylvania County, VA 125 people · 4.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fauquier County, VA 249 people · 9.5% of departures
  2. Orange County, VA 227 people · 8.6% of departures
  3. Prince William County, VA 158 people · 6.0% of departures
  4. Madison County, VA 145 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Spotsylvania County, VA 120 people · 4.6% 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. This is the figure for Culpeper County, VA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Culpeper, VA is not one. This is the figure for Culpeper County, VA, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 23°F.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BOSTON 4 SE, 7.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

MetricValueSource period
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

57 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, drought and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 63% of it.

DroughtElevated
HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Strong windModerate
Inland floodingModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
138
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,381
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Culpeper's police department reported 138 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,381.

Culpeper County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.5 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 about 11.0 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 9.6 per 100,000 residents in Culpeper County.

Homicide
2.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
11.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
9.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
14.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Culpeper’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Culpeper (Culpeper County) rather than Culpeper itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Washington Dulles Intl at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year96.0%Top 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 16%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%Top 19%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Washington Dulles IntlIAD44 mi11,500 ft
Richmond IntlRIC76 mi9,003 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI87 mi10,503 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
58
Your Score
—

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Other cities in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia681,29468Washington vs Culpeper
ArlingtonArlington County236,25473Arlington vs Culpeper
AlexandriaAlexandria city156,97660Alexandria vs Culpeper
GermantownMontgomery County90,71968
FrederickFrederick County83,39567
WaldorfCharles County82,94360
Silver SpringMontgomery County81,46268
CentrevilleFairfax County71,70667
Dale CityPrince William County71,01663
GaithersburgMontgomery County69,82568
BethesdaMontgomery County69,39770
RockvilleMontgomery County67,67170

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Culpeper side by side with a similar place.

Culpeper vs BearCulpeper vs Minnehaha

Moving to Culpeper from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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.

ZIP codes in Culpeper

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Culpeper with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Culpeper closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2270138,512$97,892$396,800—