There are all types when it comes to being a snob in Virginia. You’ve got your Wine Snobs, Book Snobs, and, of course, Clothes Snobs. Then there are the Technology Snobs, Car Snobs, and yes, even City Snobsas in, I’m better than you because I live in (insert snooty city here).
How can we tell which Virginia cities are the snobbiest? By measuring snobby things, that’s how.
We used Saturday Night Science to look at things like expensive homes, high incomes, and overly educated populations by city in Virginia. These are the criteria you’d argue with a friend over a foodie dinner about who’s snobbier.
After analyzing 62 of the state’s most populous areas over 5,000 people, we came up with this ranking of the ten snobbiest places in the state of Virginia.
The Virginian in these places aren’t snobby, they just know they’re better than you.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Snobbiest Places In Virginia
Don’t freak out.
What’s the snobbiest place in Virginia? The snobbiest place in Virginia is Vienna based on the data. If we had their wealth and lifestyle, we’d probably be a little snobby, too.
The most laid back? That would be Richlands.
We’re not so full of ourselves as to make this ranking up from nowhere. So here’s a look at the top ten and more on how we did it. And if you’re curious, Virginia is the 7th snobbiest in the United States.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
The 10 Snobbiest Places In Virginia For 2024
/10
% Highly Educated: 75.0%
Median Income: $215,556
Median Home Price: $1,007,468
More on Vienna: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 80.0%
Median Income: $164,536
Median Home Price: $693,453
More on Falls Church: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 60.0%
Median Income: $150,333
Median Home Price: $788,454
More on Purcellville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 60.0%
Median Income: $128,708
Median Home Price: $702,237
More on Fairfax: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 55.0%
Median Income: $132,298
Median Home Price: $757,521
More on Leesburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 67.0%
Median Income: $113,179
Median Home Price: $611,500
More on Alexandria: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 52.0%
Median Income: $133,403
Median Home Price: $679,629
More on Herndon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 43.0%
Median Income: $83,737
Median Home Price: $605,326
More on Warrenton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 38.0%
Median Income: $114,503
Median Home Price: $419,118
More on Poquoson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 59.0%
Median Income: $67,177
Median Home Price: $460,428
More on Charlottesville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Methodology: How we determined the snobbiest cities in the Old Dominion
Do you think wed just come up with this list willy-nilly? Not a chance – we only use Saturday Night Science around here.
We gathered up all of the places in Virginia with populations of 5,000 people or more. This left us with a total of 62 places. Then, we looked at each place in terms of these snoot-er-iffic criteria (And no, its not a word. English snob.):
- Median home price (Higher is snobbier)
- Median household income (Higher is snobbier)
- Percent of population with a college degree (Higher is snobbier)
Incomes and college education levels come from the American Community Survey. Home prices come from Zillow.
Turned out this simple criteria was much better at sniffing out the snobby places then more snobby criteria like:
- Libaries per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Museums per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Private schools per capita (Higher is snobbier)
From there, we ranked each of our 62 places in each category with scores from one to 62. We then averaged each places ranking into one overall score, where the lowest score went to the snobbiest place in Virginia. So lets all flip a table in honor of Vienna (with our pinkies up, of course.)
Before you get upset and ruin your blowout or something drastic here, lets remember that this is all in good fun. Would we live in one of these 10 places if we had the chance? Of course, we would.
And it’s not like your real estate agent would ever point out how snobby the town you’re moving to is. We’re here to keep you grounded, even if you’re wearing a monocle.
There You Have It – Now That You’re On Your High Horse
When it comes to snobbery, these places in Virginia are heading ever upward. Residents in these communities are well educated, well paid, and appear to have all the sophisticated culture and entertainment of an Ernst Lubitsch film right at their fingertips.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The snobbiest cities in Virginia are Vienna, Falls Church, Purcellville, Fairfax, Leesburg, Alexandria, Herndon, Warrenton, Poquoson, and Charlottesville.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most laid back places in Virginia, according to science:
- Richlands
- Emporia
- Covington
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In Virginia
- Richest Cities In Virginia
- Safest Places In Virginia
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Virginia
Table: The Snobbiest Cities In Virginia For 2024
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Prices | Adult Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna, VA | 16,401 | $215,556 | $1,007,468 | 75.0% |
| 2 | Falls Church, VA | 14,576 | $164,536 | $693,453 | 80.0% |
| 3 | Purcellville, VA | 8,928 | $150,333 | $788,454 | 60.0% |
| 4 | Fairfax, VA | 24,242 | $128,708 | $702,237 | 60.0% |
| 5 | Leesburg, VA | 48,465 | $132,298 | $757,521 | 55.0% |
| 6 | Alexandria, VA | 157,594 | $113,179 | $611,500 | 67.0% |
| 7 | Herndon, VA | 24,456 | $133,403 | $679,629 | 52.0% |
| 8 | Warrenton, VA | 10,111 | $83,737 | $605,326 | 43.0% |
| 9 | Poquoson, VA | 12,479 | $114,503 | $419,118 | 38.0% |
| 10 | Charlottesville, VA | 46,289 | $67,177 | $460,428 | 59.0% |
| 11 | Manassas, VA | 42,620 | $110,559 | $514,283 | 35.0% |
| 12 | Lexington, VA | 7,346 | $93,651 | $313,583 | 61.0% |
| 13 | Fredericksburg, VA | 28,258 | $83,445 | $429,414 | 43.0% |
| 14 | Williamsburg, VA | 15,486 | $66,815 | $422,921 | 51.0% |
| 15 | Virginia Beach, VA | 457,900 | $87,544 | $384,137 | 40.0% |
| 16 | Bridgewater, VA | 6,575 | $72,051 | $340,657 | 52.0% |
| 17 | Chesapeake, VA | 249,377 | $92,703 | $374,172 | 35.0% |
| 18 | Smithfield, VA | 8,625 | $101,081 | $360,172 | 33.0% |
| 19 | Culpeper, VA | 20,105 | $86,940 | $404,059 | 30.0% |
| 20 | Suffolk, VA | 94,856 | $87,758 | $346,835 | 32.0% |
| 21 | Manassas Park, VA | 17,123 | $91,673 | $410,921 | 24.0% |
| 22 | Christiansburg, VA | 22,947 | $71,468 | $278,006 | 43.0% |
| 23 | Richmond, VA | 227,171 | $59,606 | $328,655 | 44.0% |
| 24 | Blacksburg, VA | 45,147 | $42,012 | $389,094 | 68.0% |
| 25 | Ashland, VA | 7,617 | $58,904 | $394,438 | 35.0% |
| 26 | Dumfries, VA | 5,697 | $75,629 | $537,443 | 19.0% |
| 27 | Winchester, VA | 28,103 | $62,495 | $356,203 | 32.0% |
| 28 | Salem, VA | 25,372 | $68,402 | $268,647 | 33.0% |
| 29 | Harrisonburg, VA | 51,784 | $56,050 | $316,643 | 36.0% |
| 30 | Colonial Heights, VA | 18,158 | $72,216 | $268,411 | 28.0% |
| 31 | Staunton, VA | 25,581 | $59,731 | $275,801 | 34.0% |
| 32 | Norfolk, VA | 236,973 | $60,998 | $284,301 | 31.0% |
| 33 | Woodstock, VA | 5,798 | $64,470 | $305,557 | 26.0% |
| 34 | Abingdon, VA | 8,346 | $56,164 | $263,435 | 38.0% |
| 35 | Lynchburg, VA | 79,166 | $56,243 | $242,735 | 39.0% |
| 36 | Newport News, VA | 185,118 | $63,355 | $263,687 | 29.0% |
| 37 | Radford, VA | 16,379 | $51,039 | $239,703 | 44.0% |
| 38 | Hampton, VA | 137,217 | $64,430 | $251,468 | 27.0% |
| 39 | Front Royal, VA | 15,064 | $62,735 | $339,972 | 18.0% |
| 40 | Waynesboro, VA | 22,341 | $52,519 | $277,470 | 27.0% |
| 41 | Vinton, VA | 8,045 | $65,481 | $249,931 | 19.0% |
| 42 | Roanoke, VA | 99,213 | $51,523 | $247,891 | 30.0% |
| 43 | Strasburg, VA | 7,104 | $56,244 | $311,196 | 17.0% |
| 44 | Franklin, VA | 8,194 | $57,537 | $212,203 | 23.0% |
| 45 | Portsmouth, VA | 97,384 | $57,154 | $238,266 | 22.0% |
| 46 | Farmville, VA | 7,647 | $39,233 | $237,401 | 31.0% |
| 47 | Bluefield, VA | 5,059 | $53,162 | $122,214 | 28.0% |
| 48 | Petersburg, VA | 33,261 | $46,930 | $227,187 | 23.0% |
| 49 | Bristol, VA | 17,036 | $45,250 | $191,989 | 24.0% |
| 50 | Buena Vista, VA | 6,639 | $48,783 | $166,310 | 21.0% |
| 51 | Wytheville, VA | 8,228 | $39,459 | $197,791 | 24.0% |
| 52 | Big Stone Gap, VA | 5,221 | $52,663 | $123,719 | 20.0% |
| 53 | Pulaski, VA | 8,982 | $55,213 | $145,235 | 15.0% |
| 54 | Hopewell, VA | 23,046 | $50,661 | $209,023 | 11.0% |
| 55 | South Boston, VA | 7,942 | $49,654 | $128,262 | 20.0% |
| 56 | Marion, VA | 5,722 | $37,337 | $144,743 | 22.0% |
| 57 | Galax, VA | 6,687 | $44,612 | $162,413 | 17.0% |
| 58 | Danville, VA | 42,507 | $41,484 | $137,067 | 19.0% |
| 59 | Martinsville, VA | 13,539 | $39,127 | $117,492 | 21.0% |
| 60 | Covington, VA | 5,722 | $45,737 | $129,579 | 11.0% |
| 61 | Emporia, VA | 5,680 | $41,442 | $132,687 | 16.0% |
| 62 | Richlands, VA | 5,266 | $35,959 | $100,563 | 16.0% |
I’m shocked Arlington and Alexandria didn’t make the list.
By Vienna “Art Gallery” you mean the kids drawings hanging up at the Post Office? This list is hilarious. Have you ever even been to any of these places?!
are you kidding? what happened to Middleburg… the snobbiest of all…. pure horse country… Liz Taylor’s old home, etc…..
Fact, none of the stated facts and statistics prove the general attitudes of a community. But if the person who wrote this is from Vienba. Congratulations, you are the snobbiest person I know.
This was so poorly written and researched. All your photos are off Google Images and you say nothing about the offerings of each town itself. All that you conclude are that all of the towns listed are, in fact, “snobby,” as mentioned in the title. Didn’t see that one coming, Nick James from “roadsnacks.net” a website I have never heard of which is the first thing that discredits everything in this article. It doesn’t sound like you’ve even been to Virginia, you just decided to picked a random place to shame people who work extremely hard for their successes and fortunes to call them “snobby.” I hope you’re content with the near 60,000 views you got on this article, even if it was a dishonest way of getting them writing something you know nothing about!
Roadsnacks.net knows nothing about Virginia, Northern Virginia, etc. And why are Middleburg and Charlottesville, VA not on the list? Two of the snootiest places around. Ever hear of UVA?
What about UVA?
Totally agree about those two places! Northern VA, especially within fairfax and louden counties, are is a pretty well rounded place overall. There is an issue with people going too fast, and being too stressed out, sometimes too snob and comfortable, and too much of a corporate element. It is an amazing place, where diversity thrives, and issues with racism are so small you will likely never encounter them.
Vienna are you kidding me?? I agree with the other person. I don’t think you have visited some of these places. I lived there for a long time. I live in Richmond now. But Vienna is not snobby. And what about the rest of Virginia???
BS low – raoiantlity high! Really good answer!
“… and who needs a million dollar home unless you’re an actor or celebrity”? What kind of idiot (oozing class envy) thinks because you’re a celebrity you NEED a million dollar home? I lived in a rented townhouse in Reston when I was struggling. A friend lived in a working class old neighborhood in Vienna. What a bunch of crap. Written by a cultural Marxist about an area that’s mostly culturally Marxist.
Katrina, your insurance papers and letters from the UoF M medical center keep coming to my house in Ft. Lauderdale
The Great Falls and McLean pictures are not of Great Falls or McLean. Very sloppy.