This Is Virginia's Wealthiest Town

The wealthiest town in Virginia is a scenic Washington, D.C., suburb in northern Virginia nestled along the Potomac River.

The financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St. recently reviewed median household incomes in every town, city, village, borough or census designated place with a population between 1,000 and 25,000 using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

It found Great Falls, where the median household income is more than $230,000, is the richest in the state. Coincidentally, it's right across the river from Travilah, which is Maryland's richest city.

In Great Falls, which has 15,786 residents, the median household income is $160,000 more than the state average, the site says.

Here's the entire breakdown:

• Median household income: $230,304 (state: $66,149)
• Households earning $200,000 or more: 58.9% (state: 8.5%)
• Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 81.9% (state: 36.9%)
• Median home value: $1,123,300 (state: $248,400)

Here's what 24/7 Wall St. has to say about Great Falls:

Not only is Great Falls the wealthiest town in Virginia, but also it is one of the wealthiest in the country. The typical household in Great Falls earns $230,304 a year, well more than triple the median income of $66,149 across Virginia.
Along with Travilah, Maryland, Great Falls is one of two D.C. suburbs on this list. In both towns, the high incomes are largely attributable to high-skilled, high-paying jobs with contractors and government agencies in and around the nation’s capital. Such jobs often require high education, and in Great Falls, 81.9% of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 36.9% of adults in Virginia and 30.3% of American adults.

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In nearly every state, regardless of wealth, at least one town has people who earn significantly more than a typical resident in the state and the typical American, the authors wrote.

Most of the richest towns have a relatively large number of college-educated people, the authors wrote. This is partly because at least a four-year college degree is required to qualify for many high-paying jobs. In all but four towns on the list, the share of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree was greater than the statewide share and the nationwide share of 30.3 percent. The town with the highest median income was also often a pretty pricey place to live, the authors wrote.

“Not only can higher income individuals afford more expensive real estate, but high real estate costs also drive up median incomes as they attract higher income residents and are often often prohibitively expensive for most Americans,” the authors wrote.All but three towns on the list have higher median home values than the typical U.S., home, which is worth $184,700, the site said. Each “richest” town also had higher median home value than the state.Many of the wealthiest towns are located near large cities and are “well within” commuting distance of a major urban center.

“Major urban areas are more likely to offer a wide range of high-paying jobs as well as a high concentration of cultural amenities like museums, theatres, concert venues, and professional sports teams,” the authors wrote.

Some small towns where the margin of error was too high weren’t included, the authors wrote. Click here to read the full methodology.

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Along the Potomac River in Great Falls Park, by Mark Yarchoan via Shutterstock