Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 13,931 residents, it is a town in Virginia.
Groveton’s strongest subject is walkability (A+): it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. Overall, Groveton earns a B+, better than 70% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 133rd of 249 in Virginia. Add schools to its strengths: its schools outperform nearly three quarters of the state's. The drawback is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $585K, 4.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. 54% of the land locally is conserved, where Virginia’s towns sit at 4.6% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest place to walk is Huntley Meadows Park, 1,352 acres with 4.3 miles of trail. The town’s concentration of trails is 2.2 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in Virginia’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US · OpenStreetMap.
Where Groveton beats most towns.
53.8% of the town is conserved land, across 12 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Groveton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1861 and 6 maps from 1900 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Groveton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw10 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw9 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw10 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw11 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw10 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
Groveton is unincorporated, so Fairfax 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 Groveton.
Groveton sends many workers across the state line and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Virginia, but it has property taxes about twice the Virginia norm.
Its 1,526 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Virginia town. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #2 of 253 in Virginia.
Count the trails in 12 parks and preserves and they come to 9.7 miles.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Huntley Meadows Park | 4.3 mi | 1,352 |
| 2. Mount Vernon District Park | 3 mi | 88 |
| 3. White Oaks Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. 2 public schools serve Groveton, with 1,083 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groveton ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 764 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
22% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Most people who work leave Groveton to do it: just 2% work in town. In Groveton, the mean commuting time is 33 minutes. The median commute is under 10 miles. The share of workers in Groveton who do their job from home: 25%.
| Groveton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 17% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Just over three quarters of adults had a checkup this year in Groveton. CDC measures, 32 in all: Groveton beats Virginia on 8 and trails on 7.
| Groveton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 79% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Groveton | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.2% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6% | 7.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 13.5% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the losses FEMA expects in Groveton, 68% come from inland flooding and 8% from heat waves. In Groveton, the FEMA risk score is 32 of 100. This Virginia town has had 13 paid flood insurance claims since 2003.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect July afternoons of 89° and January nights of 27°, with about 13 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A bachelor’s degree or higher: 47% of adults 25 and older, vs 42% across Virginia. No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Virginia average. 15% of Groveton residents are 65 or older.
| Groveton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 44% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 38.3 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.9, men 35.8.
| Groveton | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.9% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.7% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.8% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.4% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.2% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.8% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23.3% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The median property tax bill is $6,161, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
On the market in Groveton: a median 34 days to sell. Its going rate for rent comes in at $1,820 a month. Among households in the town, 54% are owner-occupiers.
| Groveton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,820 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
32 within 15 miles of the center of Groveton
About 6 of every 100 Groveton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Where Groveton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Groveton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Groveton had a population of 15,725. Located south of the city of Alexandria, it encompasses numerous neighborhoods including Groveton, Bucknell Manor, Stoneybrooke, and portions of Hollin Hills. Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County's largest park, is located in the southwest part of the CDP.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Groveton.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groveton | #133 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Hayfield | #15 | A+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Belle Haven | #25 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Hybla Valley | #163 | B | C | — | B+ | C+ |
| Rose Hill | #20 | A+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Fort Hunt | #80 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Fort Belvoir | #86 | A− | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Woodlawn | #114 | B+ | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
Groveton, Hayfield, Belle Haven, Hybla Valley, Rose Hill, Fort Hunt, Fort Belvoir and Woodlawn report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Groveton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Groveton grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #133 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $585,000, 42% 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−.
