Dale City, Virginia

Area Profile

71,016 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Dale City, in Prince William County.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 36% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 48% of 4,199 cities measured57
Schools2,718th of 4,162 cities measured38
GrowthTop 31% of 4,224 cities measured59
Housing affordability2,368th of 4,218 cities measured64
ClimateTop 25% of 4,225 cities measured76
Physical resilienceTop 34% of 4,226 cities measured71
Access2,569th of 4,226 cities measured90
Economic stabilityTop 22% of 4,226 cities measured71
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.5% and median household income $111,994, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Prince William County, VA, which contains Dale City, rather than for Dale City alone.

In the public schools here, 80% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.2 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 33% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.3 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
71,016
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$111,994
Top 13% nationally
Density
4,990/sq mi
14.2 sq mi of land
Median age
35.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Virginia
Nearest major airport
IAD
21 mi · Washington Dulles Intl
Median home value
$425,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Prince William County, VA, which contains Dale City, is 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Prince William County, VA, which contains Dale City, fell 2.4% over the past year, to 254,593 employed residents.

34% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 74% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $111,994 is higher than in 87% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsPrince William County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$76,48457th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftPrince William County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$80,64566th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,6802024 ACS 5-Year$111,994Top 13%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,7592024 ACS 5-Year$42,331Top 28%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%Top 33%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year40.7 minBottom 7%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year33.5%Top 26%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.2%26th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentPrince William County, VA’s figureJuly 2026254,593Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Prince William County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−3.6%Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Prince William County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−2.4%Bottom 14%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forcePrince William County, VA’s figureJuly 2026263,92871st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.0%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 ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%91st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Prince William County, VA’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment ratePrince William County, VA’s figureJuly 20263.5%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.2%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024113k101k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $111,994 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 does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for Prince William County, VA, which contains this city.

80% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 79% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
80.4%
Bottom 29% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
78.5%
Bottom 40% in Virginia
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Forest Park HighPrince William County Public Schools2,34316.583%90%
C.D. Hylton HighPrince William County Public Schools1,85916.083%88%
Stuart M. Beville MiddlePrince William County Public Schools1,18113.767%73%
George M. Hampton MiddlePrince William County Public Schools89312.269%68%
Kyle R. Wilson ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools87516.582%75%
Fannie W. Fitzgerald ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools82914.883%70%
Sonnie Penn ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools74416.993%91%
River Oaks ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools66214.183%73%
Neabsco ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools63514.170%61%
Minnieville ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools58416.794%85%
Rosa Parks ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools54715.282%77%
Dale City ElementaryPrince William County Public Schools44315.876%73%

65.2% 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 $4,219 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.99% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,085, some 11% above the $1,876 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,085 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $83,400 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $111,994.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,876 a month.

A median home at $425,500 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $127,700, 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
32.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,085
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,876
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$425,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Dale City’s median household income of $111,994, 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 change (1 year)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+2.6%39th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+33.9%24th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+67.3%11th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 27%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year79.3%57th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6842024 ACS 5-Year22,03197th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,874Bottom 23%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,636Bottom 30%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,085Bottom 30%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$822024 ACS 5-Year$1,876Bottom 10%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,2552024 ACS 5-Year$425,50084th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1152024 ACS 5-Year$4,21985th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,9112024 ACS 5-Year$127,700Top 12%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.99%51st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year32.6%Bottom 28%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year1367th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.5%24th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2032024 ACS 5-Year55791st 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

59/ 100
Top 31% 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.

Federal tax returns show Prince William County, which contains Dale City, lost about 0.7% 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 $76,484, below the $80,645 of households that moved out.

At 3.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Prince William County, VA, which contains Dale City, rather than for Dale City alone.

Units permitted
1,656
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.4
Top 41% nationally
Year over year
+78%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
37.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$76,484
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$80,645
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fairfax County, VA 7,952 people · 27% of arrivals
  2. Manassas city, VA 1,332 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  3. Alexandria city, VA 1,322 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  4. Loudoun County, VA 1,315 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Stafford County, VA 1,125 people · 3.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fairfax County, VA 4,666 people · 14% of departures
  2. Stafford County, VA 2,916 people · 9.0% of departures
  3. Manassas city, VA 1,293 people · 4.0% of departures
  4. Fauquier County, VA 1,248 people · 3.9% of departures
  5. Spotsylvania County, VA 1,164 people · 3.6% 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 Prince William 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 Dale City, VA is not one. This is the figure for Prince William County, VA, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.0 inches, including 12.4 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 35, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station QUANTICO MCAS, 10.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals12.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year352024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
35
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
49
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

71 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 65% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

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.

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

Prince William County records 3.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.6 per 100,000 residents in Prince William County.

Homicide
3.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.0
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 the county around Dale City (Prince William County) rather than Dale City itself. 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. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 21 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year97.2%Top 15%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle21 miBottom 41%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%Top 16%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Washington Dulles IntlIAD21 mi11,500 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI51 mi10,503 ft
Richmond IntlRIC79 mi9,003 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
63
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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 Dale City
ArlingtonArlington County236,25473Arlington vs Dale City
AlexandriaAlexandria city156,97660Alexandria vs Dale City
GermantownMontgomery County90,71968
FrederickFrederick County83,39567
WaldorfCharles County82,94360
Silver SpringMontgomery County81,46268
CentrevilleFairfax County71,70667
GaithersburgMontgomery County69,82568
BethesdaMontgomery County69,39770
RockvilleMontgomery County67,67170
RestonFairfax County64,41467

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 Dale City side by side with a similar place.

Dale City vs WoodbridgeDale City vs Cherry Hill

Moving to Dale City 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
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

ZIP codes in Dale City

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Dale City 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 Dale City 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
2219381,588$117,337$444,800—