---
title: 3. Vienna, VA
description: 'Vienna, VA is #3 on Money''s list of Best Places to Live'
authors:
  - name: timestaff
    url: https://money.com/author/timestaff/
    articles: 459
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    former_staff: true
published: '2014-05-30T14:56:12.000Z'
modified: '2014-05-30T14:56:12.000Z'
section: Everyday Money
tags:
  - buying a home
  - home prices
  - Housing Market
  - real estate
  - selling a home
  - Vienna
  - Virginia
canonical: https://money.com/collection-post/vienna-va-3-best-places-to-live/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

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![201309_BPL_VIENNA](https://img.money.com/2014/05/201309_bpl_vienna.jpg)
*Vienna, VA*

**Top 50 rank**: 3

**Population**: 16,285

Unlike other cookie-cutter suburbs in Northern Virginia, Vienna offers walkability, a historic center, and unique businesses that give Vienna an identity all its own.

A town green anchors the community and serves as a gathering spot for local events, like the Concerts on the Green summer series. A 45-mile bike path and park built on the roadbed of a former railroad cuts right through town, and downtown is dotted with one-of-a-kind stores and homegrown eateries. The small-town feel comes with access to all the D.C. metro area attractions.

All that comes at a cost: Real estate prices and taxes are among the highest in the county. A typical three-bedroom can sell for $600,000 -- and bidding wars are the norm. Then there's the traffic, though that's just a fact of life for anyone near the nation's capital. *\--Ismat Sarah Mangla*

<table style="height:53px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Vienna, VA</h3></td><td></td><td>Town stats</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:177px"><tbody><tr><td>Median family income (per year)</td><td></td><td>$144,502</td></tr><tr><td>Job growth % (2010-2012)</td><td></td><td>7.20%</td></tr><tr><td>Median home price (2012)</td><td></td><td>$550,000</td></tr><tr><td>Reading test scores (% above/below average)</td><td></td><td>7.5%</td></tr><tr><td>Math test scores (% above/below average)</td><td></td><td>25.8%</td></tr><tr><td>Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)</td><td></td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Property crime incidents (per 1,000)</td><td></td><td>12</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:231px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Financials</h3></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Median family income (per year)</td><td></td><td>$144,502</td></tr><tr><td>Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)</td><td></td><td>$105,230</td></tr><tr><td>Sales tax</td><td></td><td>5.00%<sup>II</sup></td></tr><tr><td>State income tax rate (highest bracket)</td><td></td><td>5.75%</td></tr><tr><td>State income tax rate (lowest bracket)</td><td></td><td>2.00%</td></tr><tr><td>Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)</td><td></td><td>$1,584</td></tr><tr><td>Job growth % (2010-2012)</td><td></td><td>7.20%</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:103px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Housing</h3></td></tr><tr><td>Median home price (2012)</td><td></td><td>$550,000</td></tr><tr><td>Average property taxes (2012)</td><td></td><td>$6,066</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:172px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Education</h3></td></tr><tr><td>Colleges, universities and<br>professional schools (within 30 miles)</td><td></td><td>52</td></tr><tr><td>Reading test scores (% above/below state average)</td><td></td><td>7.5%</td></tr><tr><td>Test scores math (% above/below average)</td><td></td><td>25.8%</td></tr><tr><td>% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)</td><td></td><td>86.0/14.0</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:203px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Quality of life</h3></td></tr><tr><td>Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)</td><td></td><td>80.5%</td></tr><tr><td>Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)</td><td></td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Property crime incidents (per 1,000)</td><td></td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>Median commute time (in minutes)</td><td></td><td>26.1</td></tr><tr><td>% population with commute 45 mins. or longer</td><td></td><td>17.3%</td></tr><tr><td>% population walk or bike to work</td><td></td><td>7.2%</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:253px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Leisure and culture</h3></td></tr><tr><td>Movie theaters (within 15 miles)</td><td></td><td>75</td></tr><tr><td>Restaurants (within 15 miles)</td><td></td><td>7,052</td></tr><tr><td>Bars (within 15 miles)</td><td></td><td>427</td></tr><tr><td>Public golf courses (within 30 miles)</td><td></td><td>189</td></tr><tr><td>Libraries (within 15 miles)</td><td></td><td>183</td></tr><tr><td>Museums (accredited by AAM; within 30 miles)</td><td></td><td>41</td></tr><tr><td>Ski resorts (within 100 miles)</td><td></td><td>N.A.</td></tr><tr><td>Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)</td><td></td><td>0.5</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:153px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Weather</h3></td></tr><tr><td>Annual rainfall (inches)</td><td></td><td>41.8</td></tr><tr><td>% clear days in the area</td><td></td><td>54%</td></tr><tr><td>High temp in July ° F</td><td></td><td>89.1°</td></tr><tr><td>Low temp in Jan ° F</td><td></td><td>23.9°</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="height:178px"><tbody><tr><td><h3 class="collection-subhead">Meet the neighbors</h3></td></tr><tr><td>Median age</td><td></td><td>40.5</td></tr><tr><td>Completed at least some college (% of residents)</td><td></td><td>75.1%</td></tr><tr><td>Married %</td><td></td><td>53.8%</td></tr><tr><td>Divorced %</td><td></td><td>5.9%</td></tr><tr><td>Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)</td><td></td><td>124.1</td></tr></tbody></table>

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