Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Wolf Trap’s
Measured by household income, Wolf Trap is among the highest-earning towns in the country. 3.1% of residents are in poverty, against 9.9% across Virginia. Wolf Trap grades A+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Wolf Trap at work: what stands out
A lot of Wolf Trap works from home
45% of Wolf Trap workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
81% of Wolf Trap’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, and so do 72% of the jobs based in Wolf Trap. The jobs ↓
Wolf Trap is a place people come home to
There are 1,544 jobs based in Wolf Trap, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Wolf Trap has about 10,000 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Why Wolf Trap gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wolf Trap is among the top U.S. towns, #7 of 253 in Virginia. Household income is its strongest input ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
The Census reports Wolf Trap’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wolf Trap stays A+.
Each way, about 30 minutes from Wolf Trap
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wolf Trap workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,213 commuters (the 45% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
1,544 jobs are based in Wolf Trap.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wolf Trap, 2013 → 2023: 1,208 → 1,544. 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 Wolf Trap’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Wolf Trap on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,908 residents head out to work, 128 work right here, and 1,416 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Wolf Trap on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.22 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.
14% of working residents work in Washington
Where Wolf Trap clocks in
14% of workers
12% 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 Wolf Trap goes to work
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.
Wolf Trap is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, the same share as across Virginia, on an EPA index of 7.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,707 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 46% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 0.5% of Wolf Trap households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Wolf Trap’s commuters take a bus or train.
Wolf Trap is 8th of 2,109 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 6% | A+ |
| 7 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 8 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 9 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| 10 | Powell OH | 18,269 | $195K | 1.1% | 2.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Wakefield VA | 11,930 | $238K | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Franconia VA | 18,335 | $152K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Broadlands VA | 14,353 | $241K | 1.0% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Wolf Trap, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
The towns next door employ 22% of Wolf Trap
The biggest share goes to Tysons (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wolf Trap workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Trap | – | A+ | A− | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Vienna | 2% | A | A+ | 26 min | $216,953 |
| Oakton | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $160,663 |
| Tysons | 12% | A | A+ | 27 min | $129,818 |
| Reston | 8% | A | A+ | 26 min | $148,710 |
| McLean | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $250,000+ |
| Difficult Run | under 2% | A+ | B | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Great Falls | under 2% | A+ | B | 34 min | $250,000+ |
| Great Falls Crossing | under 2% | A+ | B− | 34 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wolf Trap’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Wolf Trap: questions
What is the median household income in Wolf Trap?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wolf Trap?
3.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wolf Trap?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 45% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wolf Trap work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (14%, 14 mi), Tysons (12%, 3 mi), Reston (8%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wolf Trap walkable?
Wolf Trap is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wolf Trap without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wolf Trap, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wolf Trap
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.