Photo: Ben Schumin · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Alexandria top those of 88% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 7.9% of residents (Virginia 9.9%). The two grades for Alexandria are A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For 29% of workers, the job is at home, where Virginia as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Alexandria, in brief
Alexandria trades workers with the towns around it
Alexandria has about as many jobs (73,191) as working residents (69,851), but they are mostly different people: 59,545 residents leave for work each day while 62,885 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Alexandria are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Alexandria works one town over
40% of working residents work in a town that borders Alexandria: Washington (26%), Arlington (13%) and Lincolnia (1%). Next door ↓
A lot of Alexandria workers cross into Washington, D.C.
24% of Alexandria workers work outside Virginia, most of them in Washington, D.C., the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Most Alexandria residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
A lot of Alexandria works from home
29% of Alexandria workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Alexandria’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Alexandria is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #74 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Alexandria stays A.
Alexandria by day and by night
On a workday 59,545 residents head out to work, 10,306 work right here, and 62,885 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
26% of working residents work in Washington
Where Alexandria clocks in
26% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How far Alexandria’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 28 minutes each way, about the VA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alexandria workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 69,743 commuters (the 29% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Alexandria
73,191 jobs are based in Alexandria.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alexandria, 2013 → 2023: 82,550 → 73,191. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alexandria’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Alexandria is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Alexandria is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #5 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Alexandria near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 98,041 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 79% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 42.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.4% of Alexandria households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 17% of Alexandria’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Alexandria ranks: 11th of 206 U.S. towns of 112,000 to 217,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 3 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Cary NC | 183,582 | $135K | 5.7% | 3.5% | 19% | A |
| 10 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| 11 | Alexandria VA | 160,662 | $120K | 7.9% | 3.3% | 15% | A |
| 12 | Lisle Township IL | 119,740 | $119K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 11% | A |
| 13 | Arvada CO | 122,901 | $117K | 5.8% | 3.8% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Hampton VA | 137,315 | $70K | 12.7% | 6.3% | 25% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 141 | Newport News VA | 183,230 | $70K | 14.5% | 5.8% | 40% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Alexandria, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
The towns next door employ 40% of Alexandria
The biggest share goes to Washington (26%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alexandria workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria | – | A | A+ | 28 min | $119,681 |
| Arlington | 13% | A | A+ | 26 min | $142,114 |
| Lincolnia | 1% | A− | A+ | 28 min | $121,639 |
| Bailey's Crossroads | under 2% | B− | A+ | 28 min | $88,483 |
| Rose Hill | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $174,950 |
| Huntington | under 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $99,956 |
| Belle Haven | under 2% | A+ | A | 34 min | $140,574 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Alexandria’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Alexandria: questions
What is the median household income in Alexandria?
$119,681 (±$2,819) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alexandria?
7.9%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alexandria?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alexandria work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (26%, 7 mi), Arlington (13%, 4 mi), Tysons (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Alexandria walkable?
Alexandria is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.5 out of 20, and 21% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Alexandria without a car?
17% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 79% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alexandria, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alexandria
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.