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 2023, at 79.7%. Covington city had the lowest, at 9.6%. The median was 26.3% and the figure for Virginia was 41.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median26.3133 counties
Virginia41.5History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Falls Church cityFalls Church city: 79.7 %79.7Arlington CountyArlington County: 77.1 %77.1Alexandria cityAlexandria city: 65.8 %65.8Fairfax CountyFairfax County: 64.3 %64.3Loudoun CountyLoudoun County: 64 %64Fairfax cityFairfax city: 62.4 %62.4Albemarle CountyAlbemarle County: 60.6 %60.6Charlottesville cityCharlottesville city: 60.6 %60.6Lexington cityLexington city: 57.3 %57.3James City CountyJames City County: 50.2 %50.2York CountyYork County: 50 %50Williamsburg cityWilliamsburg city: 48.5 %48.5Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 48.4 %48.4Goochland CountyGoochland County: 47 %47Fredericksburg cityFredericksburg city: 46.8 %46.8Henrico CountyHenrico County: 45.7 %45.7Prince William CountyPrince William County: 44.5 %44.5Richmond cityRichmond city: 44.1 %44.1Stafford CountyStafford County: 43.3 %43.3Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 42.7 %42.7Hanover CountyHanover County: 42.4 %42.4Virginia Beach cityVirginia Beach city: 40.4 %40.4Poquoson cityPoquoson city: 40.1 %40.1Radford cityRadford city: 39.8 %39.8Fauquier CountyFauquier County: 39.7 %39.7Lynchburg cityLynchburg city: 38.5 %38.5Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 37.4 %37.4Roanoke CountyRoanoke County: 37.4 %37.4Clarke CountyClarke County: 37.3 %37.3Harrisonburg cityHarrisonburg city: 36.7 %36.7Chesapeake cityChesapeake city: 36.4 %36.4King George CountyKing George County: 35.8 %35.8Rappahannock CountyRappahannock County: 35.6 %35.6Fluvanna CountyFluvanna County: 35.6 %35.6Highland CountyHighland County: 35.5 %35.5New Kent CountyNew Kent County: 35.5 %35.5Staunton cityStaunton city: 35.1 %35.1Powhatan CountyPowhatan County: 34.2 %34.2Northumberland CountyNorthumberland County: 33.9 %33.9Spotsylvania CountySpotsylvania County: 33.8 %33.8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Falls Church city79.7+0.9 pts
2Arlington County77.1+0.3 pts
3Alexandria city65.8-0.3 pts
4Fairfax County64.3+0.2 pts
5Loudoun County64+0.5 pts
6Fairfax city62.4+2.3 pts
7Albemarle County60.6+0.5 pts
8Charlottesville city60.6+1.6 pts
9Lexington city57.3-2.9 pts
10James City County50.2+0.2 pts
11York County50+0.5 pts
12Williamsburg city48.5-2.1 pts
13Montgomery County48.4+1.9 pts
14Goochland County47+2.6 pts
15Fredericksburg city46.8+3.3 pts
16Henrico County45.7+0.4 pts
17Prince William County44.5+0.8 pts
18Richmond city44.1-0 pts
19Stafford County43.3+0.2 pts
20Chesterfield County42.7+0.3 pts
21Hanover County42.4+0.5 pts
22Virginia Beach city40.4+0.6 pts
23Poquoson city40.1+1.6 pts
24Radford city39.8-5 pts
25Fauquier County39.7+0.3 pts
26Lynchburg city38.5+0.6 pts
27Lancaster County37.4+5.1 pts
28Roanoke County37.4-0.1 pts
29Clarke County37.3+2.8 pts
30Harrisonburg city36.7+1.6 pts
31Chesapeake city36.4+0.7 pts
32King George County35.8+1 pts
33Rappahannock County35.6+1.8 pts
34Fluvanna County35.6-0.2 pts
35Highland County35.5+4.8 pts
35New Kent County35.5+1.9 pts
37Staunton city35.1+1.5 pts
38Powhatan County34.2+1.5 pts
39Northumberland County33.9+0.2 pts
40Spotsylvania County33.8+0.5 pts
41Nelson County33.7+3.3 pts
42Bedford County33.7+1.1 pts
43Manassas city33.3-1.3 pts
44Norfolk city32.7+0.5 pts
45Northampton County32.6+3.2 pts
46Suffolk city32.4+0.3 pts
47Winchester city31.6-0.6 pts
48Middlesex County31.6+2 pts
49Rockbridge County31.5+1.3 pts
50Salem city31.1-1.4 pts
51Frederick County30.3+1.2 pts
52Mathews County30.1+0.3 pts
53Isle of Wight County29.9+0.2 pts
54Colonial Heights city29.5+1.4 pts
55Orange County29.5+2.1 pts
56Newport News city29.1+0.4 pts
57Roanoke city28.9+0.5 pts
58Greene County28.5+0.6 pts
59Rockingham County28.4-0.4 pts
60Louisa County27.7+1.8 pts
61Madison County27.6+3.1 pts
62Botetourt County27.5-0.1 pts
63Hampton city27.5-0.2 pts
64Washington County26.5+2 pts
65Franklin city26.4+3.3 pts
66Culpeper County26.4-0.4 pts
67Waynesboro city26.3-0.9 pts
68Gloucester County25.9+0.4 pts
69Campbell County25.7+1.1 pts
70Manassas Park city25.5+0.5 pts
71Surry County25.4+1.9 pts
72Petersburg city25+3.3 pts
73Buena Vista city24.7+3.3 pts
74Warren County24.5+2.1 pts
75Franklin County24.3+0.5 pts
76King William County24.3-0.5 pts
77Prince Edward County24.2-2.7 pts
78Prince George County24-0.1 pts
79Bristol city23.9+1.1 pts
80Augusta County23.30 pts
81Caroline County23.2+0.9 pts
82Portsmouth city23.2+1.9 pts
83Floyd County23-0.2 pts
84Amherst County23+1.1 pts
85Accomack County21.8+0.4 pts
86Pulaski County21.4+0.3 pts
87Shenandoah County21.4+0.7 pts
88Martinsville city21.3+0.9 pts
89Mecklenburg County21.2-0.3 pts
90Appomattox County20.5+1.2 pts
91Dinwiddie County20.5+2.6 pts
92Wythe County19.7-0.4 pts
93Westmoreland County19.7+2.1 pts
94King and Queen County19.5-3.1 pts
95Charlotte County18.7+2.1 pts
96Southampton County18.6-0.4 pts
97Danville city18.3-0.3 pts
98Galax city18.3+0.8 pts
99Halifax County18.2+1.1 pts
100Cumberland County18.2-0.4 pts
101Smyth County18.1+0.6 pts
102Giles County18-1.2 pts
103Essex County17.5+2.2 pts
104Richmond County17.4-0.5 pts
105Craig County17.3+1.3 pts
106Amelia County16.8-0.9 pts
106Nottoway County16.8+0.7 pts
108Carroll County16.7+0.8 pts
109Norton city16.7-2.7 pts
110Tazewell County16.4+0.5 pts
111Charles City County16-0.2 pts
112Sussex County15.8+0.4 pts
113Henry County15.7+1.3 pts
114Brunswick County15.6-0.4 pts
115Wise County15.6-0.7 pts
116Alleghany County15.6+0.3 pts
117Bath County15.6-2.8 pts
118Bland County15.4-1 pts
119Pittsylvania County15.4+0.4 pts
120Patrick County15.2-1.1 pts
121Page County15.2+0.5 pts
122Emporia city15.2-1.3 pts
123Scott County14.3+0.4 pts
124Russell County14.1+1.5 pts
125Grayson County13.9-0.2 pts
126Greensville County13.8+0.3 pts
127Buckingham County13.5+1.3 pts
128Lee County12.7+1.2 pts
129Hopewell city12.5+1.4 pts
130Lunenburg County11.2+0.1 pts
131Buchanan County10.9-0.1 pts
132Dickenson County10.7-0.7 pts
133Covington city9.6-1.8 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-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 79.7% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Covington city, with 9.6% 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. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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

Counties in Virginia: more rankings