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Old 11-20-2021, 08:59 AM
 
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Why is Alexandria’s median household income lower than most other areas in Fairfax and lower than Arlington?

2019 Median household income:

Fairfax $128,374
Arlington $120,071
Alexandria $100,939

Last edited by DCarea; 11-20-2021 at 09:11 AM..
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Old 11-20-2021, 09:34 AM
 
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I would guess because many more apartments/condos and younger unmarried residents.
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Old 11-20-2021, 10:17 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ozzyngcsu View Post
I would guess because many more apartments/condos and younger unmarried residents.
Median age for Alexandria is 37. Arlington‘s 35, and I would think that Arlington, having higher population density, would have a greater share of apartments and condos.
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Old 11-20-2021, 04:42 PM
 
Location: Arlington, VA
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Like many areas of Northern Virginia there can be very rich areas and lower income areas- Alexandria City is no different. You have very wealthy areas like Old Town, areas along GW Parkway, middle income areas and then Arlandria and the West End which is comprised of large numbers of more affordable/ lower income apartment complexes. It's a very well balanced community. Also - comparing Fairfax County which is massive compared to the confines of Arlington County and Alexandria City isn't a good metric.
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Old 11-21-2021, 10:01 AM
 
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Fairfax has mcclean, great falls, vienna, and is like 10x the population. Arlington has $$ condo high rises and a lot more DC commuters.


Alexandria includes Landmark mall area some other areas south of 395 that aren't bad, but definitely are not high income. Alex just doesn't have as many high income areas to "balance out" the low ones.
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Old 11-21-2021, 10:17 AM
 
Location: Reston, Virginia, USA
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Arlington County has a lot more expensive newer highrise apartment buildings and Alexandria has more old towers and lowrise garden style apartments. While Alexandria does have a few very wealthy areas, it also has more moderate income areas like Landmark/North Seminary Hill, and low-income pockets like Arlandria, while Arlington has some very expensive and exclusive neighborhoods—Arlington north of I-66 is one of the wealthiest areas in or around DC. Arlington does have a couple low-income pockets, but overall Arlington has fewer of these relative to Alexandria.
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Old 12-22-2021, 09:49 AM
 
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If you're talking about Alexandria Fairfax, rather than Alexandria city, I'd say it's due to the large portion of very low income families in the Woodlawn area throwing off the average. It's been said by our district supervisor Dan Storck that Mount Vernon has some of the wealthiest and poorest households in all of Fairfax County. It's a short walk from the $20M mansions along the water to the $100k slum apartments off Pole Rd. The route 1 corridor is full of trash; I actually saw a bum fight while commuting to METRO on the REX bus. Hopefully, with the BRT project moving forward, the area will be redeveloped with more high end apartment complexes. Two of them are nearing completion.
In my neighborhood of detached single family homes on 1/2 acre lots, I'd say the average household income is about $220k, usually derived from either two (government and therefore public) salaries, or one government salary and a military pension.
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Old 12-27-2021, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Alexandria, Va
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marineguy, I am familiar with these census statistics. The $101,000 median income is referring to the City of Alexandria, not the Fairfax County portion of the mailing address. The previous posts are spot on in explaining the difference in the medians.
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Old 12-27-2021, 09:12 AM
 
Location: Beautiful and sanitary DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ozzyngcsu View Post
I would guess because many more apartments/condos and younger unmarried residents.
Correct for Alexandria vs. Fairfax. Alexandria's per capita income is $68K, while Fairfax County's is $57K, but Fairfax Co households are substantially larger (average 2.8 vs. 2.2).

Not correct for Alexandria vs. Arlington, which have almost identical household sizes (2.2 vs. 2.1), and of 20/30-somethings (37% vs. 39%, though Arlington has many more 20-somethings). Both Alexandria and Arlington have an identical poverty rate of 8.6%, and in both 18% of households earn <$50K. Where Arlington differs is that it has more high earners: 58% of Arlington households earn >$100K, vs. 52% in Alexandria. Arlington is closer to high-wage job centers like Downtown DC and Tysons, not to mention Rosslyn, so it attracts more high earners.
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Old 12-29-2021, 04:08 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
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There's a North-South divide in the D.C. metro, NW is the most desirable quadrant in D.C. and North Arlington and McLean (which face NW D.C.) are among the wealthiest inner suburban areas along with the parts of MoCo bordering NW.



South Arlington and Alexandria (which really blur together) are considered less desirable, further away from the wealth and opportunity centered around Northwest and are more easily accessible from the least desirable and poorer parts of the metro (SE D.C. and inner southern PG county).
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