The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Virginia For 2023


The most miserable cities in Virginia are Dumfries and Manassas Park for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in Virginia?

Only a third of Virginians say they are truly happy. That’s too bad, considering that folks in Virginia don’t really have it too bad in the grand scheme of things.

But, we were curious – which Virginia cities might be the most miserable? We’re about to find out, using Saturday Night Science and data.

After analyzing the 63 largest cities, we sadly present the most miserable cities in the Old Dominion.


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


Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. If you have a smile on your face, you probably don’t live in one of these cities.

Oh, and by the way, Blacksburg is the happiest place in Virginia.

For more Virginia reading, check out:

The 10 Most Miserable Places In Virginia For 2023

Dumfries, VA

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

8
/10

Population: 5,669
Poverty Level: 14.1%
Median Home Price $226,100
Married Households 9.0%
Households With Kids 59.1%
More on Dumfries: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Manassas Park, VA

Source: Wikipedia User PierreSelim | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 17,081
Poverty Level: 4.4%
Median Home Price $330,200
Married Households 8.0%
Households With Kids 41.82%
More on Manassas Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Orange, VA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,012
Poverty Level: 15.7%
Median Home Price $219,500
Married Households 18.0%
Households With Kids 33.74%
More on Orange: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Hopewell, VA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 23,020
Poverty Level: 24.0%
Median Home Price $127,300
Married Households 22.0%
Households With Kids 31.14%
More on Hopewell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Manassas, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 42,596
Poverty Level: 5.6%
Median Home Price $356,500
Married Households 10.0%
Households With Kids 39.21%
More on Manassas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Strasburg, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 7,036
Poverty Level: 5.6%
Median Home Price $212,700
Married Households 23.0%
Households With Kids 34.45%
More on Strasburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Colonial Heights, VA

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

7
/10

Population: 18,127
Poverty Level: 9.0%
Median Home Price $188,900
Married Households 23.0%
Households With Kids 32.14%
More on Colonial Heights: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Front Royal, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Jason Riedy | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,039
Poverty Level: 14.5%
Median Home Price $237,800
Married Households 23.0%
Households With Kids 30.76%
More on Front Royal: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Petersburg, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 33,229
Poverty Level: 21.3%
Median Home Price $119,200
Married Households 12.0%
Households With Kids 20.86%
More on Petersburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Emporia, VA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,761
Poverty Level: 21.5%
Median Home Price $104,500
Married Households 24.0%
Households With Kids 32.14%
More on Emporia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In The Old Dominion

To rank the unhappiest places in Virginia, we had to determine what criteria make people happy. It isn’t a stretch to assume that happy people earn great salaries, are relatively stress-free, and have a stable home life.

So we went to the Census’s American Community Survey 2017-2021 report for the happy criteria, flipped the list with Saturday Night Science, and it spit out the answer.

Like magic.

Here are the criteria we used to measure misery:

  • Percentage of residents with a college degree
  • Average commute times
  • Unemployment rates
  • Cost of living
  • % of married couples
  • % of families with kids
  • Poverty rate

After we decided on the criteria, we gathered the data for the 63 places in Virginia with over 5,000 people.

We then ranked each place from one to 63 for each of the seven criteria, with a score of one being the most miserable (Any ties were given to the larger place).

Next, we averaged the seven rankings into a Miserable Index for each place with the lowest overall Miserable Index “earning” the title “Most Miserable City In Virginia.”

If you’d like to see the complete list of states, most miserable to happiest, scroll to the bottom of this post to see the unabridged chart.

We updated this article for 2023, and it’s our tenth time ranking the most miserable cities in Virginia.

There You Have It – The Least Happy Cities In Virginia

As we said earlier, trying to determine the most miserable cities in Virginia is usually a subjective matter.

But if you’re analyzing cities where people are not stable, where you’re stuck in traffic, and no one spent the time to go to college, then this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the happiest cities in Virginia, according to science:

  1. Blacksburg
  2. Lexington
  3. Charlottesville

For more Virginia reading, check out:

Miserable Cities In Virginia For 2023

Rank City Population Poverty Level Median Home Value % Married % Kids
1 Dumfries, VA 5,669 14.1% $226,100 9.0% 59.1%
2 Manassas Park, VA 17,081 4.4% $330,200 8.0% 41.82%
3 Orange, VA 5,012 15.7% $219,500 18.0% 33.74%
4 Hopewell, VA 23,020 24.0% $127,300 22.0% 31.14%
5 Manassas, VA 42,596 5.6% $356,500 10.0% 39.21%
6 Strasburg, VA 7,036 5.6% $212,700 23.0% 34.45%
7 Colonial Heights, VA 18,127 9.0% $188,900 23.0% 32.14%
8 Front Royal, VA 15,039 14.5% $237,800 23.0% 30.76%
9 Petersburg, VA 33,229 21.3% $119,200 12.0% 20.86%
10 Emporia, VA 5,761 21.5% $104,500 24.0% 32.14%
11 Suffolk, VA 93,268 9.6% $273,600 23.0% 33.1%
12 Franklin, VA 8,249 19.8% $178,800 26.0% 33.05%
13 Culpeper, VA 19,740 9.7% $304,100 17.0% 38.69%
14 Big Stone Gap, VA 5,280 18.9% $141,600 26.0% 29.1%
15 Portsmouth, VA 97,454 17.2% $182,700 18.0% 29.87%
16 Newport News, VA 185,069 15.8% $204,900 13.0% 29.51%
17 Falls Church, VA 14,494 2.5% $838,300 7.0% 36.09%
18 Woodstock, VA 5,716 23.1% $226,100 19.0% 31.11%
19 Chesapeake, VA 247,172 8.0% $291,700 20.0% 38.15%
20 Hampton, VA 136,748 14.4% $191,000 16.0% 29.15%
21 Purcellville, VA 8,910 4.5% $514,900 15.0% 47.4%
22 Leesburg, VA 48,223 3.6% $490,500 9.0% 44.98%
23 Vienna, VA 16,465 3.7% $827,800 7.0% 44.41%
24 Herndon, VA 24,574 7.3% $470,200 5.0% 38.19%
25 Norfolk, VA 238,556 17.4% $223,300 12.0% 28.75%
26 Vinton, VA 8,039 11.3% $149,800 25.0% 30.82%
27 Virginia Beach, VA 457,658 7.8% $295,900 13.0% 33.1%
28 South Boston, VA 8,011 22.9% $142,000 17.0% 30.81%
29 Danville, VA 42,556 23.1% $91,800 21.0% 22.21%
30 Roanoke, VA 99,578 18.4% $140,600 18.0% 23.46%
31 Covington, VA 5,716 15.8% $69,800 37.0% 33.22%
32 Galax, VA 6,681 21.9% $100,000 24.0% 26.83%
33 Richlands, VA 5,300 27.8% $94,800 38.0% 20.45%
34 Staunton, VA 25,358 12.3% $179,900 22.0% 25.89%
35 Martinsville, VA 13,476 25.4% $77,600 19.0% 23.5%
36 Ashland, VA 7,478 16.9% $210,100 15.0% 28.35%
37 Bluefield, VA 5,079 16.2% $136,200 15.0% 30.38%
38 Fairfax, VA 23,980 10.1% $596,800 8.0% 30.81%
39 Warrenton, VA 10,002 6.2% $363,000 16.0% 29.43%
40 Waynesboro, VA 22,149 16.6% $188,400 22.0% 28.95%
41 Pulaski, VA 8,984 21.8% $123,400 25.0% 24.48%
42 Smithfield, VA 8,513 12.0% $313,300 25.0% 27.99%
43 Fredericksburg, VA 28,027 14.3% $382,400 12.0% 23.41%
44 Winchester, VA 28,194 13.3% $270,300 15.0% 27.14%
45 Lynchburg, VA 78,973 17.6% $169,000 16.0% 25.44%
46 Bridgewater, VA 6,092 9.8% $279,600 15.0% 26.9%
47 Alexandria, VA 158,185 9.6% $579,100 4.0% 21.14%
48 Bristol, VA 16,996 17.7% $139,000 21.0% 24.65%
49 Marion, VA 5,817 21.1% $119,600 28.0% 27.33%
50 Poquoson, VA 12,382 4.4% $358,700 31.0% 37.97%
51 Williamsburg, VA 15,299 15.5% $328,700 8.0% 20.3%
52 Radford, VA 16,205 35.4% $174,700 13.0% 21.3%
53 Salem, VA 25,335 10.0% $205,900 26.0% 29.43%
54 Harrisonburg, VA 52,062 25.8% $231,300 9.0% 29.08%
55 Richmond, VA 225,676 19.8% $263,000 13.0% 20.18%
56 Buena Vista, VA 6,649 21.4% $123,100 32.0% 28.24%
57 Abingdon, VA 8,350 15.5% $170,800 25.0% 21.38%
58 Wytheville, VA 8,260 25.8% $163,100 25.0% 23.79%
59 Farmville, VA 7,266 26.9% $204,900 7.0% 16.55%
60 Christiansburg, VA 23,174 12.9% $205,000 24.0% 28.75%
61 Charlottesville, VA 46,597 23.1% $355,800 12.0% 22.66%
62 Lexington, VA 7,287 22.8% $251,500 6.0% 16.91%
63 Blacksburg, VA 44,385 45.2% $335,200 5.0% 18.17%
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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