City · Fredericksburg city, Virginia

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Fredericksburg is a city in Fredericksburg city, Virginia, part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. It has 28,873 residents. Fredericksburg, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,949 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #197 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an emergency room (low), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and primary care physicians (high). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), property crime rate (high) and reading scores (low).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #4,949 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #197 of 375 in VA
Population: 28,873 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 2,762.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 5129744

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety26#11,572/15,637
Economy53#7,419/15,631
Housing49#7,596/14,977
Health42#9,129/15,609
Healthcare79#3,224/15,650
Environment83#2,639/15,453
Education51#7,672/15,649
Infrastructure57#6,728/15,650
Community78#3,472/15,651
Leisure & amenities96#569/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fredericksburg, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Fredericksburg city 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

Distance to an emergency room · low1.0 mi
100/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFredericksburg city value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low2 mi
100/100Virginia 14 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauFredericksburg city value
Primary care physicians · high195 /100k
100/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFredericksburg city value
Access to exercise opportunities · high100.0%
100/100Virginia 83.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFredericksburg city value
Dentists · high204 /100k
100/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFredericksburg city value
Restaurants and bars · high27.3 /10k
99/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFredericksburg city value

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high4,398 /100k
5/100Virginia 2,649 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFredericksburg city value
Property crime rate · high2,494 /100k
5/100Virginia 1,354 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationFredericksburg city value
Reading scores · low2.68
8/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFredericksburg city value
Average commute time · high31.9 min
9/100Virginia 27.3 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Drought exposure · high82%
11/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAFredericksburg city value
Home price to income ratio · high5.6×
13/100Virginia 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
5.1 /1k (2021) → 1.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−79%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.7% (2015-2019) → 92.9% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$65,641 (2015-2019) → $86,071 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
40.9% (2015-2019) → 46.1% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Public transit commutersWorsening
5.4% (2015-2019) → 1.6% (2020-2024)
−3.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
12.3% (2015-2019) → 8.6% (2020-2024)
−3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Fredericksburg, Virginia improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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.

Improved4

Uninsured−3.7 points12.3% → 8.6%
Bachelor's++5.2 points40.9% → 46.1%
Household income+31%$65,641 → $86,071
Broadband+8.2 points84.7% → 92.9%

Declined1

Transit use−3.8 points5.4% → 1.6%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Fredericksburg, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.0 min2015-2019	31.9 min2020-2024	+1.9 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	40.9%2015-2019	46.1%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Improved	69%
Broadband subscriptions	84.7%2015-2019	92.9%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Improved	50%
Child poverty rate	20.2%2015-2019	19.8%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Effective property tax rate	0.66%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	18%
High school diploma or higher	90.2%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Home price to income ratio	5.6×2015-2019	5.6×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	78%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4582015-2019	0.4572020-2024	−0.001	Within the margin of error	52%
Median household income	$65,6412015-2019	$86,0712020-2024	+31%	Improved	58%
Poverty rate	15.5%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Public transit commuters	5.4%2015-2019	1.6%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Declined	8%
Rent as share of income	29.5%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Rent-burdened households	48.8%2015-2019	48.8%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Unemployment rate	4.8%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.3%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Improved	81%

“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 Fredericksburg, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fredericksburg, 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, Fredericksburg, Virginia itself moved +0.5 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

28,873 residents

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

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

Household income

11,720 households (±206)

Fredericksburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k14%1,665
$25k–50k13%1,514
$50k–75k17%1,943

Homes

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

Owners and renters

11,720 households (±206)

Fredericksburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Own40%4,657
Rent60%7,063

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

14,806 workers (±645)

Fredericksburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone65%9,649
Carpool10%†1,526
Public transit1.6%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

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 Fredericksburg city, the county holding most of Fredericksburg's residents.

Fredericksburg city has 1,477 employer establishments, 506 for every 10,000 residents (2.04× the US rate of 248; 2.10× Virginia's), with 21,521 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,104. The Census Bureau also counts 2,827 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,477; 2,827 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 506; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 21,521
Average annual pay: $53,104; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Fredericksburg city by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	199	68.2	3.27×More than typical	3,044	$84,698	137
Restaurants and other eating places	166	56.9	3.10×More than typical	3,695	$23,663	18
Full-service restaurants	87	29.8	3.88×More than typical	2,180	$26,154	14
Lessors of real estate	75	25.7	2.09×More than typical	257	$63,393	410
Offices of physicians	68	23.3	3.60×More than typical	1,290	$113,641	19
Personal care services	68	23.3	4.88×More than typical	402	$28,179	106
Limited-service restaurants	60	20.6	2.56×More than typical	1,174	$20,434	4
Offices of other health practitioners	53	18.2	2.99×More than typical	531	$48,955	70
Legal services	50	17.1	3.19×More than typical	203	$82,094	34
Specialty trade contractors	36	12.3	0.80×Fewer than typical	434	$59,682	106
Beauty salons	34	11.7	4.66×More than typical	159	$33,333	51
Clothing and accessories stores	34	11.7	3.21×More than typical	354	$20,331	30

Rank places for an industry Open Fredericksburg city

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 29,180 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 $1.9B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fredericksburg, Virginia: $65,560 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.9B; +2,547% vs FY2025
Per resident: $65,560; US $1,994
Sole-source: 2.6%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; 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 Veterans Affairs$1.8B95%
Federal Acquisition Service$36.5M1.9%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$22.4M1.2%
Department of State$9.9M0.5%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$6.1M0.3%
Forest Service$3.1M0.2%
Transportation Security Administration$1.7M0.1%
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$1.4M0.1%

Top recipients

TRIWEST HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE CORP$1.8B94%
IST RESEARCH, LLC$47.2M2.5%
ASPETTO INC$24.9M1.3%
REVELATIONS COUNSELING & CONSULTING, LLC$15.1M0.8%
SOLDIERPOINT DIGITAL HEALTH, LLC$11.3M0.6%

Spending by fiscal year

49.7MFY2017
74.3MFY2018
61.1MFY2019
71.1MFY2020
118.4MFY2021
166MFY2022
103.9MFY2023
124.3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Insurance carriers · 5241$1.8B94%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$36.3M1.9%
Apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing · 3159$24.9M1.3%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$24.6M1.3%
Legal services · 5411$15.2M0.8%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Fredericksburg, Virginia

EXPRESS REPORT: MAY 2026$902.9M
TRIWEST HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE CORP· Fredericksburg city, VA· Education & social services· Jun 25, 2026 – Jun 25, 2026· 36C10G26K0282
EXPRESS REPORT APRIL 2026$873.9M
TRIWEST HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE CORP· Fredericksburg city, VA· Education & social services· Jun 25, 2026 – Jun 25, 2026· 36C10G26K0281
PULSE REWARDS FOR JUSTICE$70.2M
IST RESEARCH, LLC· Fredericksburg city, VA· Professional services· Jan 16, 2020 – Jun 16, 2026· 19AQMM20C0021
BODY ARMOR

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 Fredericksburg, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Fredericksburg, Virginia's figures are part of those of Fredericksburg city, VA ($1.9B in FY2026), never added to them: 100.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Fredericksburg is mostly in Fredericksburg city.

See federal money in Fredericksburg city

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.

Fredericksburg, 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.

Fredericksburg city74100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV86

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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/5129744

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends