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 2022, at 78.9%. Buchanan County had the lowest, at 10.9%. The median was 25% and the figure for Virginia was 41%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Lowest10.9Buchanan County
Median25133 counties
Virginia41History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Falls Church cityFalls Church city: 78.9 %78.9Arlington CountyArlington County: 76.8 %76.8Alexandria cityAlexandria city: 66 %66Fairfax CountyFairfax County: 64.1 %64.1Loudoun CountyLoudoun County: 63.5 %63.5Lexington cityLexington city: 60.2 %60.2Albemarle CountyAlbemarle County: 60.1 %60.1Fairfax cityFairfax city: 60.1 %60.1Charlottesville cityCharlottesville city: 58.9 %58.9Williamsburg cityWilliamsburg city: 50.6 %50.6James City CountyJames City County: 50 %50York CountyYork County: 49.5 %49.5Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 46.5 %46.5Henrico CountyHenrico County: 45.4 %45.4Radford cityRadford city: 44.8 %44.8Goochland CountyGoochland County: 44.4 %44.4Richmond cityRichmond city: 44.1 %44.1Prince William CountyPrince William County: 43.7 %43.7Fredericksburg cityFredericksburg city: 43.5 %43.5Stafford CountyStafford County: 43.1 %43.1Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 42.3 %42.3Hanover CountyHanover County: 41.8 %41.8Virginia Beach cityVirginia Beach city: 39.8 %39.8Fauquier CountyFauquier County: 39.4 %39.4Poquoson cityPoquoson city: 38.5 %38.5Lynchburg cityLynchburg city: 38 %38Roanoke CountyRoanoke County: 37.5 %37.5Fluvanna CountyFluvanna County: 35.8 %35.8Chesapeake cityChesapeake city: 35.8 %35.8Harrisonburg cityHarrisonburg city: 35.2 %35.2King George CountyKing George County: 34.9 %34.9Manassas cityManassas city: 34.5 %34.5Clarke CountyClarke County: 34.5 %34.5Rappahannock CountyRappahannock County: 33.8 %33.8Northumberland CountyNorthumberland County: 33.7 %33.7New Kent CountyNew Kent County: 33.6 %33.6Staunton cityStaunton city: 33.6 %33.6Spotsylvania CountySpotsylvania County: 33.3 %33.3Powhatan CountyPowhatan County: 32.8 %32.8Bedford CountyBedford County: 32.6 %32.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Falls Church city78.9+0.2 pts
2Arlington County76.8+0.5 pts
3Alexandria city66+0.8 pts
4Fairfax County64.1+0.6 pts
5Loudoun County63.5+0.5 pts
6Lexington city60.2-0.3 pts
7Albemarle County60.1+1.2 pts
8Fairfax city60.1-1.3 pts
9Charlottesville city58.9+1 pts
10Williamsburg city50.6+0.2 pts
11James City County50-0.5 pts
12York County49.5+1 pts
13Montgomery County46.5+0.6 pts
14Henrico County45.4+0.4 pts
15Radford city44.8+4.3 pts
16Goochland County44.4-1.6 pts
17Richmond city44.1+1 pts
18Prince William County43.7+0.9 pts
19Fredericksburg city43.5+0.8 pts
20Stafford County43.1+0.8 pts
21Chesterfield County42.3+1 pts
22Hanover County41.8+1.3 pts
23Virginia Beach city39.8+1.2 pts
24Fauquier County39.4+1.7 pts
25Poquoson city38.5-2.5 pts
26Lynchburg city38-0.3 pts
27Roanoke County37.5+0.1 pts
28Fluvanna County35.8-0.5 pts
29Chesapeake city35.8+0.3 pts
30Harrisonburg city35.2+0.6 pts
31King George County34.9-0 pts
32Manassas city34.5+2.4 pts
33Clarke County34.5-0.7 pts
34Rappahannock County33.8+2 pts
35Northumberland County33.7-0.1 pts
36New Kent County33.6+0.9 pts
37Staunton city33.6+3.2 pts
38Spotsylvania County33.3-0.2 pts
39Powhatan County32.8+1.7 pts
40Bedford County32.6+1.6 pts
41Salem city32.5+0.4 pts
42Lancaster County32.3-1 pts
43Winchester city32.3-1.4 pts
44Norfolk city32.2+0.4 pts
45Suffolk city32.1+1.1 pts
46Highland County30.7+2.6 pts
47Nelson County30.4+0.1 pts
48Rockbridge County30.2+2 pts
49Mathews County29.8-0.1 pts
50Isle of Wight County29.8+0.7 pts
51Middlesex County29.6+2.5 pts
52Northampton County29.3+1.3 pts
53Frederick County29.1+1.5 pts
54Rockingham County28.8+1.1 pts
55Newport News city28.7+0.6 pts
56Roanoke city28.4+1.6 pts
57Colonial Heights city28.1+2.1 pts
58Greene County27.9-0.7 pts
59Hampton city27.7+0.4 pts
60Botetourt County27.7+0.3 pts
61Orange County27.3+1.2 pts
62Waynesboro city27.2-0.7 pts
63Prince Edward County26.9+1.9 pts
64Culpeper County26.9+0.3 pts
65Louisa County25.80 pts
66Gloucester County25.5+0.2 pts
67Manassas Park city25-0.6 pts
68King William County24.8-0.1 pts
69Campbell County24.7+0.6 pts
70Washington County24.6-0.1 pts
71Madison County24.5-0.2 pts
72Prince George County24.1-0.3 pts
73Franklin County23.9+1.3 pts
74Surry County23.5+0.9 pts
75Augusta County23.3+0.7 pts
76Floyd County23.2+2.1 pts
77Franklin city23.2+2.1 pts
78Bristol city22.8-0.6 pts
79King and Queen County22.6+1.3 pts
80Warren County22.4-0.1 pts
81Caroline County22.3+0.3 pts
82Amherst County21.9+0.1 pts
83Petersburg city21.8-0.3 pts
84Buena Vista city21.5+2 pts
84Mecklenburg County21.5-0.9 pts
86Accomack County21.4+0.3 pts
87Portsmouth city21.3+0.3 pts
88Pulaski County21.1+1.5 pts
89Shenandoah County20.7+0.3 pts
90Martinsville city20.3-1.8 pts
91Wythe County20.1+0.5 pts
92Norton city19.4-2.5 pts
93Appomattox County19.3-0.2 pts
94Giles County19.3+0.7 pts
95Southampton County19-0.3 pts
96Danville city18.7+0.5 pts
97Cumberland County18.5+1.2 pts
98Bath County18.3-0.3 pts
99Dinwiddie County17.9+0.3 pts
100Richmond County17.8+0.4 pts
101Amelia County17.70 pts
102Westmoreland County17.6+1.1 pts
103Galax city17.5-0.4 pts
104Smyth County17.5+1.5 pts
105Halifax County17.1+0.7 pts
106Charlotte County16.6+1.5 pts
107Emporia city16.5+4.1 pts
108Bland County16.4+3.1 pts
109Patrick County16.3-0.1 pts
110Wise County16.3+1.7 pts
111Charles City County16.2+0.6 pts
112Brunswick County16.1-0.1 pts
112Nottoway County16.1-0.3 pts
114Craig County16-4.8 pts
115Tazewell County15.9-0.3 pts
116Carroll County15.9+0.7 pts
117Sussex County15.4+2.2 pts
118Essex County15.3-0.5 pts
119Alleghany County15.2-0.1 pts
120Pittsylvania County15+0.8 pts
121Page County14.7+0.1 pts
122Henry County14.4-0.8 pts
123Grayson County14.1-1.5 pts
124Scott County13.9-0.2 pts
125Greensville County13.4+2.5 pts
126Russell County12.6+0.4 pts
127Buckingham County12.2+0.4 pts
128Lee County11.5+0.7 pts
129Dickenson County11.4+1 pts
130Covington city11.4-2.4 pts
131Hopewell city11.1-0.3 pts
131Lunenburg County11.1-0.7 pts
133Buchanan County10.9-0.4 pts

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/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

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

Falls Church city, with 78.9% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Buchanan County, with 10.9% in 2022.

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