Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Counties in Virginia

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

Falls Church city had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 133 counties in 2021, at 78.7%. Dickenson County had the lowest, at 10.4%. The median was 25% and the figure for Virginia was 40.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest78.7Falls Church city
Lowest10.4Dickenson County
Median25133 counties
Virginia40.3History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Falls Church cityFalls Church city: 78.7 %78.7Arlington CountyArlington County: 76.3 %76.3Alexandria cityAlexandria city: 65.2 %65.2Fairfax CountyFairfax County: 63.5 %63.5Loudoun CountyLoudoun County: 63 %63Fairfax cityFairfax city: 61.4 %61.4Lexington cityLexington city: 60.5 %60.5Albemarle CountyAlbemarle County: 58.9 %58.9Charlottesville cityCharlottesville city: 58 %58James City CountyJames City County: 50.5 %50.5Williamsburg cityWilliamsburg city: 50.4 %50.4York CountyYork County: 48.5 %48.5Goochland CountyGoochland County: 46.1 %46.1Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 45.9 %45.9Henrico CountyHenrico County: 45 %45Richmond cityRichmond city: 43.1 %43.1Prince William CountyPrince William County: 42.7 %42.7Fredericksburg cityFredericksburg city: 42.7 %42.7Stafford CountyStafford County: 42.3 %42.3Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 41.4 %41.4Poquoson cityPoquoson city: 40.9 %40.9Hanover CountyHanover County: 40.5 %40.5Radford cityRadford city: 40.4 %40.4Virginia Beach cityVirginia Beach city: 38.6 %38.6Lynchburg cityLynchburg city: 38.3 %38.3Fauquier CountyFauquier County: 37.7 %37.7Roanoke CountyRoanoke County: 37.4 %37.4Fluvanna CountyFluvanna County: 36.3 %36.3Chesapeake cityChesapeake city: 35.5 %35.5Clarke CountyClarke County: 35.2 %35.2King George CountyKing George County: 34.9 %34.9Harrisonburg cityHarrisonburg city: 34.6 %34.6Northumberland CountyNorthumberland County: 33.9 %33.9Winchester cityWinchester city: 33.7 %33.7Spotsylvania CountySpotsylvania County: 33.5 %33.5Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 33.3 %33.3New Kent CountyNew Kent County: 32.8 %32.8Salem citySalem city: 32.2 %32.2Manassas cityManassas city: 32.1 %32.1Rappahannock CountyRappahannock County: 31.8 %31.8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Falls Church city78.7
2Arlington County76.3
3Alexandria city65.2
4Fairfax County63.5
5Loudoun County63
6Fairfax city61.4
7Lexington city60.5
8Albemarle County58.9
9Charlottesville city58
10James City County50.5
11Williamsburg city50.4
12York County48.5
13Goochland County46.1
14Montgomery County45.9
15Henrico County45
16Richmond city43.1
17Prince William County42.7
18Fredericksburg city42.7
19Stafford County42.3
20Chesterfield County41.4
21Poquoson city40.9
22Hanover County40.5
23Radford city40.4
24Virginia Beach city38.6
25Lynchburg city38.3
26Fauquier County37.7
27Roanoke County37.4
28Fluvanna County36.3
29Chesapeake city35.5
30Clarke County35.2
31King George County34.9
32Harrisonburg city34.6
33Northumberland County33.9
34Winchester city33.7
35Spotsylvania County33.5
36Lancaster County33.3
37New Kent County32.8
38Salem city32.2
39Manassas city32.1
40Rappahannock County31.8
41Norfolk city31.8
42Powhatan County31.1
43Suffolk city31
44Bedford County31
45Staunton city30.3
46Nelson County30.3
47Mathews County29.9
48Isle of Wight County29.1
49Greene County28.6
50Rockbridge County28.2
51Newport News city28.1
52Highland County28.1
52Northampton County28.1
54Waynesboro city27.9
55Rockingham County27.7
56Frederick County27.6
57Botetourt County27.4
58Hampton city27.3
59Middlesex County27.1
60Roanoke city26.8
61Culpeper County26.5
62Orange County26.1
63Colonial Heights city25.9
64Louisa County25.8
65Manassas Park city25.6
66Gloucester County25.3
67Prince Edward County25
68King William County24.9
69Madison County24.7
70Washington County24.7
71Prince George County24.4
72Campbell County24
73Bristol city23.4
74Surry County22.6
75Augusta County22.6
76Franklin County22.6
77Warren County22.5
78Mecklenburg County22.4
79Martinsville city22.1
80Petersburg city22
81Caroline County22
82Norton city21.9
83Amherst County21.8
84King and Queen County21.3
85Floyd County21.2
86Franklin city21
87Accomack County21
88Portsmouth city21
89Craig County20.7
90Shenandoah County20.4
91Pulaski County19.7
92Wythe County19.6
93Appomattox County19.5
94Buena Vista city19.5
95Southampton County19.3
96Bath County18.6
97Giles County18.5
98Danville city18.1
99Galax city17.9
100Amelia County17.7
101Dinwiddie County17.6
102Richmond County17.5
103Cumberland County17.4
104Westmoreland County16.5
105Patrick County16.4
106Halifax County16.4
107Nottoway County16.3
108Tazewell County16.3
109Brunswick County16.1
110Smyth County16
111Essex County15.9
112Grayson County15.6
113Charles City County15.6
114Alleghany County15.3
115Carroll County15.2
116Henry County15.2
117Charlotte County15.1
118Page County14.6
118Wise County14.6
120Pittsylvania County14.2
121Scott County14.1
122Covington city13.8
123Bland County13.3
124Sussex County13.2
125Emporia city12.3
126Russell County12.2
127Lunenburg County11.8
128Buckingham County11.8
129Hopewell city11.4
130Buchanan County11.4
131Greensville County10.9
132Lee County10.8
133Dickenson County10.4

Other periods

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. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties 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. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Rank Counties in Virginia by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Falls Church city, with 78.7% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Dickenson County, with 10.4% in 2021.

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. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in Virginia: more rankings