Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 71,016.
Dale City is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 117th of 249 graded towns in Virginia, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $112K. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 60% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $426K, 3.4 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. Dale City’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, above both Virginia’s towns (27 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Bel Air is on the National Register of Historic Places. Dale City is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns.
Where Dale City beats most towns.
Where Dale City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Dale City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 7 maps from 1927 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dale City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw23 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw22 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw22 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw24 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw23 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M visitors a yearWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Lincoln Memorial: Aerial_view_of_Lincoln_Memorial_-_east_side.jpg: Carol M. Highsmith derivative w, Public domain
Dale City is unincorporated, so Prince William County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Dale City.
Dale City sends most of its workers to Washington and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes, but it has property taxes 1.5 times the Virginia norm.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 2006, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dale City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Prince William County Public Schools. Two of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herbert J. Saunders MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,198 | B− |
| Gar-Field HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,524 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
9.6 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Andrew Leitch Park, 201 acres with 3.1 miles of trail.
| Dale City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Andrew Leitch Park | 3.1 mi | 201 |
| 2. Greenwood Farms Park | — | 61 |
| 3. John D. Jenkins Neighborhood Park | — | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Dale City has 5,372 jobs for its 30,957 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 37.4 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
Most working residents leave Dale City for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Dale City has added 979 jobs, to 5,372 in 2023. The top destinations are Washington (7%), Arlington (5%) and Alexandria (4%).
| Dale City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $112,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 14% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.1% | 5% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Dale City has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 26° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 6,860 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dale City’s, it is less healthy than 71%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
14% of Dale City adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Dale City beats the Virginia average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 40% of Dale City adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Dale City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| What stands out | Dale City | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.1% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.7% | 6.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 13.7% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
People 65 and older are 11% of residents (17% statewide); children under 18 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). The median age in Dale City is 35.2 years. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 42% across Virginia.
| Dale City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 27% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 35.2 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 44% | 29% |
50.8% women, 49.2% men
About 97 men for every 100 women. Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.3, men 35.1.
| Dale City | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.5% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.6% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.2% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.6% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.5% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.1% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.4% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The median property tax bill is $4,219, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Dale City’s median rent is $1,876 a month.
| Dale City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,876 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Dale City
About 7 of every 100 Dale City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Dale City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Washington, D.C. As of 2020, the total population was 72,088. The community is roughly bounded by Hoadly Road to the northwest, Prince William Parkway to the north, Smoketown Road to the northeast, Gideon Drive to the east, and Cardinal Drive to the south.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Dale City.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale City | #117 | B+ | C+ | — | B | B |
| Montclair | #101 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
| Potomac Mills | #157 | B | C− | — | B | B+ |
| County Center | #113 | B+ | C | — | B | B+ |
| Independent Hill | #98 | A− | C | — | B | A |
| Lake Ridge | #83 | A− | C | — | B | A− |
| Leesylvania | #106 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
Dale City, Montclair, Potomac Mills, County Center, Independent Hill, Lake Ridge and Leesylvania report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Dale City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Dale City grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #117 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B for health and B for schools.
The typical home is worth about $426,000, 3% above the Virginia typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
