The 10 Worst Alexandria Suburbs For 2023


We used data and Friday Night Science to identify the worst suburbs of Alexandria for 2023. The worst Alexandria suburbs are Dumfries and Brentwood.

The suburbs of Alexandria call to all types of people looking to escape city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Alexandria to avoid all the hustle and bustle.

So the question arises: do the suburbs maintain a semblance of the larger-than-life appeal of their more famous neighbor?

Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Alexandria ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Alexandria area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Alexandria proper, although Falls Church certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Alexandria are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones.

We examined the 34 biggest suburbs of Alexandria to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Virginia lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Alexandria in terms of quality of life.

The 10 worst suburbs around Alexandria for 2023

  1. Dumfries
  2. Brentwood
  3. Greenbelt
  4. Landover Hills
  5. Bladensburg
  6. Seat Pleasant
  7. Riverdale Park
  8. College Park
  9. Capitol Heights
  10. Forest Heights

Now don’t freak out.

What’s the worst suburb of Alexandria? Dumfries ranks as the worst suburb of Alexandria for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Alexandria that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.

Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Virginia check out the best places in Virginia overall or the worst.

And remember, there are some good places to live around Alexandria too.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


For more Virginia reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Alexandria Suburbs To Live For 2023

Dumfries, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Leonard J. DeFrancisci | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 5,669
Median Income: $71,784 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (14th highest)
Median Home Value: $226,100 (lowest)
More on Dumfries:

We’ll get the ball rolling with Dumfries, the absolute worst place to live around Alexandria according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Dumfries beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 6th worst in the Alexandria area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.

But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Dumfries.

You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.

2. Brentwood

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,775
Median Income: $71,645 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.5% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $338,400 (13th lowest)
More on Brentwood:

Welcome to Brentwood. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.

This city is 10.9 miles to Alexandria. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $71,645 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.

But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.

3. Greenbelt

Greenbelt, MD

Source: Wikipedia User Andrew Bossi | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 24,602
Median Income: $75,832 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $244,800 (6th lowest)
More on Greenbelt:

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Alexandria suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Greenbelt on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.

In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Alexandria suburbs.

But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.

4. Landover Hills

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,075
Median Income: $82,083 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.5% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $276,800 (7th lowest)
More on Landover Hills:

If you live in Landover Hills, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 10th lowest Alexandria suburb for median household incomes.

Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Alexandria. Remember, we looked at 34 cities for this study.

Landover Hills is about 13.2 miles to downtown.

5. Bladensburg

Bladensburg, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,591
Median Income: $54,208 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 13.5% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $302,200 (9th lowest)
More on Bladensburg:

Bladensburg has the distinction of being a Alexandria suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Bladensburg has the 9th lowest home values in the metro Alexandria area, where the median price is $302,200. The median income is $201,607.

Bladensburg has an unemployment rate of 13.49% which ranks 2nd worst.

6. Seat Pleasant

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 4,537
Median Income: $51,122 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 22.8% (highest)
Median Home Value: $235,000 (2nd lowest)
More on Seat Pleasant:

Seat Pleasant has 4,537 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)

Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 22.17324223054882%.

7. Riverdale Park

Riverdale Park, MD

Source: Wikipedia User Famartin | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,321
Median Income: $87,819 (16th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (23rd highest)
Median Home Value: $372,100 (19th lowest)
More on Riverdale Park:

Ah, Riverdale Park. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Alexandria.

It’s the place with the 23rd most out of work residents in the Alexandria metro area (4.43%).

8. College Park

College Park, MD

Source: Wikipedia User User:Tomf688 | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 34,961
Median Income: $69,736 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (13th highest)
Median Home Value: $359,300 (17th lowest)
More on College Park:

College Park is a city about 14.5 miles from Alexandria, but Alexandria probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb for 2018.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. College Park has the 17th most uninsured people, 4th worst incomes, and has the 13th highest unemployment rate (5.77%) in the entire Alexandria metro area.

Homes only cost $359,300 for a reason. That’s cheap for Alexandria standards.

9. Capitol Heights

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,083
Median Income: $85,104 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $235,700 (3rd lowest)
More on Capitol Heights:

If you absolutely have to live near Alexandria, then Capitol Heights might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Alexandria suburb.

About 7.36% of residents are out of work.

10. Forest Heights

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,652
Median Income: $86,922 (15th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 12.9% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $236,800 (4th lowest)
More on Forest Heights:

Rounding out the ten worst Alexandria suburbs to call home is Forest Heights.

Located 4.6 miles outside the city, Forest Heightss is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 3rd highest unemployment rate (12.89%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Alexandria for 2023

To figure out how bad a Alexandria suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.

It’s Saturday Night Science.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, this is the criteria we used:

  • High unemployment rate
  • Low median household incomes
  • Low population density (no things to do)
  • Low home values
  • A lot of high school dropouts
  • High poverty
  • High rate of uninsured families

We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Alexandria.

We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 34 suburbs to evaluate around Alexandria.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 34 in each category, where 1 was the “worst.”

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Alexandria.” We’re looking at you, Dumfries.

We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Alexandria.

Summary: The areas around Alexandria where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023

Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Alexandria with Dumfries casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Alexandria aren’t all bad. Falls Church takes the cake as the best place to live around Alexandria.

  • Falls Church
  • University Park
  • Poolesville

For more Virginia reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Alexandria Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Dumfries 5,669 $71,784 $226,100
2 Brentwood 3,775 $71,645 $338,400
3 Greenbelt 24,602 $75,832 $244,800
4 Landover Hills 2,075 $82,083 $276,800
5 Bladensburg 9,591 $54,208 $302,200
6 Seat Pleasant 4,537 $51,122 $235,000
7 Riverdale Park 7,321 $87,819 $372,100
8 College Park 34,961 $69,736 $359,300
9 Capitol Heights 4,083 $85,104 $235,700
10 Forest Heights 2,652 $86,922 $236,800
11 New Carrollton 13,574 $73,629 $312,800
12 Mount Rainier 8,290 $59,268 $427,800
13 Manassas 42,596 $101,934 $356,500
14 Laurel 29,438 $85,615 $296,300
15 Indian Head 3,909 $73,204 $239,500
16 Berwyn Heights 3,317 $120,662 $342,400
17 Manassas Park 17,081 $90,544 $330,200
18 Hyattsville 20,790 $84,763 $380,900
19 Gaithersburg 68,827 $98,089 $427,400
20 Cheverly 6,191 $106,732 $385,500
21 Glenarden 6,341 $91,467 $334,900
22 Herndon 24,574 $117,741 $470,200
23 Fairfax 23,980 $118,492 $596,800
24 Washington 683,154 $93,547 $635,900
25 Takoma Park 17,610 $86,644 $625,200
26 La Plata 10,054 $108,043 $343,000
27 Rockville 67,095 $116,031 $554,800
28 Bowie 58,113 $127,029 $362,800
29 Chesapeake Beach 6,303 $120,194 $383,900
30 Kensington 2,336 $132,132 $797,300
31 Vienna 16,465 $200,938 $827,800
32 Poolesville 5,666 $201,607 $533,100
33 University Park 2,701 $159,464 $537,000
34 Falls Church 14,494 $155,071 $838,300
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

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