Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety89#1,773/15,637
Economy85#2,389/15,631
Housing86#2,050/14,977
Health63#5,842/15,609
Healthcare15#13,268/15,650
Environment63#5,791/15,453
Education72#4,367/15,649
Infrastructure62#6,009/15,650
Community60#6,195/15,651
Leisure & amenities6#14,777/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dahlgren, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “King George County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child care cost burden · low18.3%
98/100Virginia 24.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKing George County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,869
97/100Virginia $1,540United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKing George County value
Food environment index · high9.5
97/100Virginia 8.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKing George County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Virginia 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataKing George County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.47%
90/100Virginia 0.78%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Property crime rate · low496 /100k
90/100Virginia 1,354 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationKing George County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-5.1%
2/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataKing George County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.0 /10k
2/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKing George County value
Primary care physicians · low22 /100k
6/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKing George County value
Pharmacies · low0.7 /10k
6/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKing George County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,309 /100k
6/100Virginia 2,649 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKing George County value
Distance to an emergency room · high13.7 mi
9/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKing George County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
3,093 (2015-2019) → 3,350 (2020-2024)
+8.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
45.9% (2015-2019) → 33.2% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
28.3% (2015-2019) → 19.0% (2020-2024)
−9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$81,215 (2015-2019) → $110,057 (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeImproving
36.4 min (2015-2019) → 25.5 min (2020-2024)
−30%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.3× (2015-2019) → 3.8× (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Dahlgren, Virginia improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Rent / income−9.3 points28.3% → 19.0%
Household income+36%$81,215 → $110,057

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Dahlgren, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	36.4 min2015-2019	25.5 min2020-2024	−11.0 min	Within the margin of error	99%
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.9%2015-2019	30.5%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Broadband subscriptions	93.2%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	0.62%2015-2019	0.46%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
High school diploma or higher	95.8%2015-2019	94.9%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	43%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3482015-2019	0.3882020-2024	+0.041	Within the margin of error	21%
Median household income	$81,2152015-2019	$110,0572020-2024	+36%	Improved	66%
Rent as share of income	28.3%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	−9.3 points	Improved	92%
Rent-burdened households	45.9%2015-2019	33.2%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	86%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Dahlgren, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dahlgren, Virginia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Dahlgren, Virginia itself moved +6.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,350 residents (±518)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under 10 men (−6.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,350 residents (±518)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

White55%1,836
Black23%†778
Hispanic or Latino8.4%†280

Education

2,234 residents (±360)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma5.1%†113
High school or GED34%†767
Some college19%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,290 households (±182)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k11%†144
$25k–50k8.5%†110
$50k–75k10%†130
$75k–100k17%†216
$100k–150k27%†342
$150k–200k11%†136
$200k or more16%†212

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−15.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,290 households (±182)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

Own60%772
Rent40%518

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

518 households (±133)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00010%†52
$1,000–1,50063%†327

Home values

772 homes (±169)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k1.7%†13
$150k–250k18%†137
$250k–400k24%†189

Age of homes

1,333 homes (±201)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later12%†165
2000–200932%†421
1980–199914%†190

Size of homes

1,333 homes (±201)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio0.8%†11
1 bedroom12%†157
2 bedrooms17%†222

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,773 workers (±324)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone75%1,335
Carpool7.4%†132
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.7%†12
Work from home17%†294
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+15.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,479 workers (±308)

Dahlgren, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min53%790
15–29 min16%†233
30–44 min8.2%†121

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of King George County, the county holding most of Dahlgren's residents.

King George County has 496 employer establishments, 174 for every 10,000 residents (0.70× the US rate of 248; 0.72× Virginia's), with 5,319 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,863. The Census Bureau also counts 1,812 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 496; 1,812 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 174; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 5,319
Average annual pay: $60,863; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of King George County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	49	17.2	1.11×About typical	268	$59,321	126
Architectural, engineering and related services	41	14.4	4.13×More than typical	651	$111,303	15
Computer systems design and related services	41	14.4	3.33×More than typical	1,035	$95,576	26
Restaurants and other eating places	33	11.6	0.63×Fewer than typical	474	$21,829	11
Religious organizations	26	9.1	1.65×More than typical	80	$20,975	—
Ambulatory health care services	21	7.4	0.35×Fewer than typical	159	$46,170	63
Limited-service restaurants	21	7.4	0.92×About typical	258	$23,314	—
Building equipment contractors	20	7	1.17×About typical	113	$61,681	34
Construction of buildings	20	7	0.93×About typical	58	$48,310	52
Management, scientific and technical consulting	20	7	1.05×About typical	161	$117,596	67
Lessors of real estate	18	6.3	0.51×Fewer than typical	70	$50,300	165
Automotive repair and maintenance	13	4.6	0.91×About typical	60	$51,633	25

Rank places for an industry Open King George County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 28,447 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dahlgren, Virginia: $465 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.6M; −21% vs FY2025
Per resident: $465; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.2%; US 30%
Single offer: 37%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$1.5M99%
Defense Threat Reduction Agency$18.3K1.2%
Department of the Air Force$5,3480.3%
Department of the Army$2970.0%
Missile Defense Agency$7.630.0%

Top recipients

SOUTHEASTERN COMPUTER CONSULTANTS, INC.$325.9K21%
AMENTUM SERVICES, INC.$296.1K19%
TECHNOLOGY SERVICE CORP$220.6K14%
VALKYRIE ENTERPRISES, LLC$138.4K8.9%
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC$137.2K8.8%

Spending by fiscal year

733.5KFY2017
498.8KFY2018
385.3KFY2019
665.6KFY2020
792.4KFY2021
1.2MFY2022
1.2MFY2023
1.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$1.5M97%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$18.3K1.2%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$15.4K1.0%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$5,8580.4%
Specialized design services · 5414$4,2710.3%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Dahlgren, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Dahlgren, Virginia's figures are part of those of King George County, VA ($477.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Dahlgren is mostly in King George County.

See federal money in King George County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Dahlgren, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Eugene Simon VindmanD-VA-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 88%Missed 0.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

King George County73100% of residents

Other cities and towns in King George County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5121008

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends