Census-designated place · Prince William County, Virginia

Innovation, Virginia

Innovation is a census-designated place in Prince William County, Virginia, part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. It has 1,034 residents. Innovation, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 82 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,796 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #141 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on broadband subscriptions (high), uninsured residents (under 65) (low) and injury deaths (low). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), unemployment rate (high) and median household income (low).

82Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,796 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #141 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,034 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 358.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 5139916

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.

Safety64#5,667/15,637
Economy40#9,382/15,631
Housing—
Health90#1,548/15,609
Healthcare55#7,029/15,650
Environment89#1,623/15,453
Education89#1,738/15,649
Infrastructure85#2,281/15,650
Community71#4,561/15,651
Leisure & amenities27#11,358/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Broadband subscriptions · high100.0%
99/100Virginia 91.0%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.0%
99/100Virginia 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Injury deaths · low46 /100k
97/100Virginia 78 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePrince William County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
96/100Virginia 14 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPrince William County value
Food environment index · high9.4
96/100Virginia 8.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePrince William County value
Traffic deaths · low5.6 /100k
91/100Virginia 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataPrince William County value

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Virginia 29.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Unemployment rate · high14.2%
3/100Virginia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Median household income · low$31,943
4/100Virginia $92,116United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Drought exposure · high84%
9/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAPrince William County value
Mammography screening · low37.0%
11/100Virginia 47.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePrince William County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
14/100Virginia 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesPrince William County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
39.9% (2016-2020) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−40 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 15.7% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
36.7% (2016-2020) → 51.2% (2020-2024)
+15 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.9% → 35.7%
Unemployment rateWorsening
0.0% (2016-2020) → 14.2% (2020-2024)
+14 pts4 yearsCensus table B23025US 8.1% → 4.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
9.0% (2016-2020) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−9 pts4 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.4% → 9.8%
High school diploma or higherImproving
87.6% (2016-2020) → 96.3% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.5% → 89.6%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.281 (2016-2020) → 0.382 (2020-2024)
+36%4 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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.

There is not enough history to compare Innovation, Virginia over five years.

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

The places whose measures looked most like those of Innovation, 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.

No place that looked like Innovation, Virginia five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

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

1,034 residents (±773)

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

† 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

1,034 residents (±773)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

White13%†131
Black71%†731
Hispanic or Latino0.9%†9

Education

722 residents (±695)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma3.7%†27
High school or GED32%†231
Some college13%†94

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

359 households (±342)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k0.0%0
$25k–50k76%†272
$50k–75k7.5%†27
$75k–100k0.0%0
$100k–150k5.0%†18
$150k–200k0.0%0
$200k or more12%†42

† 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

359 households (±342)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

Own0.0%0
Rent100%†359

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

Table view

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

Rent paid

359 households (±342)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0005.0%†18
$1,000–1,5000.0%0

Age of homes

386 homes (±342)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later67%†258
2000–200918%†69
1980–19990.0%0

Size of homes

386 homes (±342)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms81%†314
3 bedrooms

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

386 workers (±273)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone69%†267
Carpool11%†41
Public transit0.0%0
Walk6.5%†25
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.7%†26
Other7.0%†27

† 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

360 workers (±272)

Innovation, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min51%†184
15–29 min24%†88
30–44 min1.4%†5

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

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 Prince William County, the county holding most of Innovation's residents.

Prince William County has 9,286 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Virginia's), with 120,091 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,828. The Census Bureau also counts 53,892 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 9,286; 53,892 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 120,091
Average annual pay: $55,828; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	1,011	20.6	1.33×More than typical	13,872	$67,668	4,871
Ambulatory health care services	772	15.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	8,361	$64,890	2,221
Restaurants and other eating places	720	14.7	0.80×Fewer than typical	14,193	$22,223	358
Lessors of real estate	425	8.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	1,230	$64,323	3,310
Computer systems design and related services	413	8.4	1.94×More than typical	3,474	$111,947	748
Services to buildings and dwellings	397	8.1	1.20×About typical	2,894	$42,448	3,285
Construction of buildings	384	7.8	1.03×About typical	1,929	$67,389	2,182
Management, scientific and technical consulting	372	7.6	1.13×About typical	4,262	$85,605	2,006
Limited-service restaurants	369	7.5	0.94×About typical	7,096	$20,007	111
Building equipment contractors	297	6	1.00×About typical	4,254	$72,609	994
Building finishing contractors	292	5.9	1.56×More than typical	2,892	$46,066	2,041
Full-service restaurants	279	5.7	0.74×Fewer than typical	5,960	$25,427	177

Rank places for an industry Open Prince William County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 491,396 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 $86.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Innovation, Virginia: $83,253 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $86.1M; −37% vs FY2025
Per resident: $83,253; US $1,995
Sole-source: 63%; US 30%
Single offer: 16%; 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$70.5M82%
National Institutes of Health$3.5M4.1%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$2.4M2.8%
U.S. Coast Guard$1.7M1.9%
Defense Logistics Agency$1.5M1.8%
Internal Revenue Service$1.2M1.4%
Department of the Air Force$1.2M1.4%
Departmental Offices$898.9K1.0%

Top recipients

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION$47M55%
GENERAL DYNAMICS MISSION SYSTEMS, INC.$19.2M22%
AMERICAN TYPE CULTURE COLLECTION$6M7.0%
SEDNA DIGITAL SOLUTIONS, LLC$2.6M3.0%
ADVANCED SYSTEMS SUPPORTABILITY ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES AND TOOLS, INC$1.4M1.6%

Spending by fiscal year

108.5MFY2017
120.4MFY2018
145.6MFY2019
152.1MFY2020
126.1MFY2021
111.8MFY2022
126.2MFY2023
149.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$56.7M66%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$7.4M8.6%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$5.4M6.2%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$3M3.5%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$2.9M3.4%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Innovation, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Innovation, Virginia's figures are part of those of Prince William County, VA ($2.3B in FY2026), never added to them: 3.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Innovation is mostly in Prince William County.

See federal money in Prince William 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.

Innovation, Virginia is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Prince William County84100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

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

Other cities and towns in Prince William 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/5139916

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

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