Navy ranks among the highest-earning U.S. towns by household income
4.4% of residents live below the poverty line; Virginia has 9.9%. Measured by household income, Navy is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Jobs and income earn Navy A+; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Navy, in brief
Home offices are common in Navy
40% of Navy workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Navy is a place people come home to
There are 543 jobs based in Navy, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Navy has about 2,400 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Three in four Navy workers earn over $40,000 a year
78% of Navy’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Navy has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Navy went from 383 in 2013 to 543 in 2023, +42%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Navy earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Navy is among the top U.S. towns, #11 of 253 in Virginia. Household income is its strongest input ($238,676, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Navy could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 27 minutes to work from Navy
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Navy workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,270 commuters (the 40% 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.
Who leaves Navy for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,898 residents head out to work, 85 work right here, and 458 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Navy on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
0.27 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Navy
543 jobs are based in Navy.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Navy, 2013 → 2023: 383 → 543. 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 Navy’s own residents hold wherever they work.
10% of working residents work in Washington
Where Navy clocks in
10% of workers
8% 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 Navy’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.
Navy is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Navy is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #87 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Navy 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 2,109 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 1.5% of Navy households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Navy’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Navy ranks: 33rd of 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Spring Valley Village TX | 4,402 | $245K | 1.0% | 2.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 32 | West Lakeland Township MN | 3,931 | $216K | 3.8% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 33 | Navy VA | 3,839 | $239K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 34 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| 35 | Aubry Township KS | 4,719 | $134K | 0.7% | 1.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Kings Park VA | 4,315 | $166K | 1.9% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Hayfield VA | 4,392 | $192K | 1.8% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Navy, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Next door is work for 10% of Navy
The biggest share goes to Fair Oaks (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Navy workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | – | A+ | A | 27 min | $238,676 |
| Franklin Farm | under 3% | A+ | A | 27 min | $215,544 |
| Fair Oaks | 5% | A− | A | 27 min | $123,947 |
| Difficult Run | under 3% | A+ | B | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Chantilly | 5% | A+ | A | 28 min | $157,124 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Navy’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 Navy: questions
What is the median household income in Navy?
$238,676 (±$29,425) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Navy?
4.4%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Navy?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 40% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Navy work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (10%, 20 mi), Tysons (8%, 9 mi), Arlington (8%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Navy walkable?
Navy is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Navy without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Navy, from the people who make the trip.
More of Navy
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.