Friday, Dec. 29 — A new study from the Smart Asset financial advisory firm released today shows that the City of Falls Church ranks Number One among all jurisdictions in Virginia in “experiencing the most wealth generation over the last 10 years.” The study measured increases in median income, investment income and home values.
According to the firm, its methodology involved the following: “To identify the areas with the greatest increases in wealth, we compared all U.S. counties across three metrics: investment income, property value, and median income over the course of 10 years. We started the analysis by calculating the Investment Income for each county by evenly weighing the Ordinary Dividends, Qualified Dividends, and Net Capital Gains. From there we calculated the change in Median Home Value, and the Median Income for each county, and ranked them on all three metrics. We calculated a Wealth Index for all U.S. counties based on a combination of these three metrics and ranked them accordingly to provide a holistic view of which areas of the U.S. are accumulating the most wealth. We then took the raw change of the three metrics as well as the Wealth Index to rank the counties with the greatest increase in wealth over a 10-year period.
| Rank | County, State | Median Home Value Raw Growth | Median Income Raw Growth | Investment Income Raw Growth | Wealth Index Growth Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falls Church city, VA | $360,152 | $35,071 | $12,000 | 60.59 |
| 2 | Loudoun County, VA | $257,161 | $34,583 | $15,000 | 56.76 |
| 3 | Rappahannock County, VA | $214,216 | $33,869 | $24,000 | 55.53 |
| 4 | Manassas city, VA | $192,179 | $30,898 | $5,000 | 50.11 |
| 5 | New Kent County, VA | $156,937 | $31,010 | $5,000 | 48.93 |
| 6 | Arlington County, VA | $239,031 | $24,937 | $15,000 | 47.61 |
| 7 | Poquoson city, VA | $116,519 | $30,134 | $11,000 | 47.34 |
| 8 | Charlottesville city, VA | $205,369 | $18,869 | $67,000 | 46.57 |
| 9 | Fauquier County, VA | $245,817 | $22,959 | $13,000 | 45.90 |
| 10 | Albemarle County, VA | $192,046 | $22,843 | $31,000 | 45.77 |
The study’s methodology and interactive map can be found here: [LINK]
