Cities in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Falls Church, VA had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 39 cities in 2023, at 79.7%. Hopewell, VA had the lowest, at 12.5%. The median was 35.1% and the figure for Virginia was 41.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest79.7Falls Church, VA

Lowest12.5Hopewell, VA

Median35.139 cities

Virginia41.5History

All cities, 2023

%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2023 (%)	Change on 2022
1	Falls Church, VA	79.7	+0.9 pts
2	Vienna, VA	73.6	-0.5 pts
3	Blacksburg, VA	69.7	+2.5 pts
4	Alexandria, VA	65.8	-0.3 pts
5	Fairfax, VA	62.4	+2.3 pts
6	Charlottesville, VA	60.6	+1.6 pts
7	Leesburg, VA	56.2	+0.1 pts
8	Herndon, VA	50.3	-2.2 pts
9	Williamsburg, VA	48.5	-2.1 pts
10	Fredericksburg, VA	46.8	+3.3 pts
11	Christiansburg, VA	45.5	+2.1 pts
12	Richmond, VA	44.1	-0 pts
13	Warrenton, VA	43.9	+0.2 pts
14	Virginia Beach, VA	40.4	+0.6 pts
15	Poquoson, VA	40.1	+1.6 pts
16	Radford, VA	39.8	-5 pts
17	Lynchburg, VA	38.5	+0.6 pts
18	Harrisonburg, VA	36.7	+1.6 pts
19	Chesapeake, VA	36.4	+0.7 pts
20	Staunton, VA	35.1	+1.5 pts
21	Manassas, VA	33.3	-1.3 pts
22	Norfolk, VA	32.7	+0.5 pts
23	Suffolk, VA	32.4	+0.3 pts
24	Winchester, VA	31.6	-0.6 pts
25	Salem, VA	31.1	-1.4 pts
26	Culpeper, VA	30.2	-0.1 pts
27	Colonial Heights, VA	29.5	+1.4 pts
28	Newport News, VA	29.1	+0.4 pts
29	Roanoke, VA	28.9	+0.5 pts
30	Hampton, VA	27.5	-0.2 pts
31	Waynesboro, VA	26.3	-0.9 pts
32	Manassas Park, VA	25.5	+0.5 pts
33	Petersburg, VA	25	+3.3 pts
34	Bristol, VA	23.9	+1.1 pts
35	Portsmouth, VA	23.2	+1.9 pts
36	Martinsville, VA	21.3	+0.9 pts
37	Danville, VA	18.3	-0.3 pts
38	Front Royal, VA	18	+0.6 pts
39	Hopewell, VA	12.5	+1.4 pts

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/virginia-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/virginia-cities?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/virginia-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_virginia_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/virginia-cities?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/virginia-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/virginia-cities?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which city has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Falls Church, VA, with 79.7% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Hopewell, VA, with 12.5% in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.