in 2011, only 10 Virginia jurisdictions had a total assessed land value exceeding $20 billion
Source: Virginia Department of Education, Composite Index of Local Ability to Pay 2014-2016
Each county/city in Virginia relies upon tax appraisals to determine the property tax owed by owners of individual parcels. Those appraisals, when summed up for each local jurisdiction, reveal the extraordinary gap in land values between Fairfax County and everyone else.
Bottom Lines:1
- Based on the assessed value, all the land in Virginia was worth a total of $1 trillion in 2011
- The value of all the land in Fairfax County is nearly four times higher than the value of the land in any other local juridiction
- 20% of the value of all land in Virginia is concentrated in Fairfax County
- the top 10 jurisdictions had nearly 60% of the land value in Virginia, with the remaining 40% scattered across 125 other counties/cities
| FAIRFAX COUNTY | $218,169,228,644 | ACCOMACK | $3,976,303,095 | STAUNTON | $1,800,836,218 | ||
| ARLINGTON | $61,937,355,039 | HARRISONBURG | $3,746,669,155 | GRAYSON | $1,793,366,565 | ||
| LOUDOUN | $61,919,008,436 | HALIFAX | $3,740,118,060 | SOUTHAMPTON | $1,786,634,262 | ||
| VIRGINIA BEACH | $53,712,634,557 | BOTETOURT | $3,719,912,057 | COLONIAL HEIGHTS | $1,768,531,615 | ||
| PRINCE WILLIAM | $48,644,273,247 | ORANGE | $3,630,967,855 | FLOYD | $1,747,531,990 | ||
| ALEXANDRIA | $33,925,579,493 | POWHATAN | $3,411,413,881 | MATHEWS | $1,718,289,993 | ||
| CHESTERFIELD | $31,894,544,919 | FALLS CHURCH | $3,399,278,652 | HOPEWELL | $1,702,208,921 | ||
| HENRICO | $30,876,685,442 | FREDERICKSBURG | $3,307,453,311 | PATRICK | $1,672,042,015 | ||
| CHESAPEAKE | $24,819,213,082 | FLUVANNA | $3,226,627,668 | DICKENSON | $1,558,458,486 | ||
| RICHMOND CITY | $20,465,188,533 | NORTHUMBERLAND | $3,219,089,452 | POQUOSON | $1,544,449,918 | ||
| NORFOLK | $19,636,679,753 | HENRY | $3,195,074,668 | PRINCE EDWARD | $1,537,132,378 | ||
| ALBEMARLE | $17,711,562,194 | NELSON | $3,067,566,512 | BRUNSWICK | $1,517,923,131 | ||
| STAFFORD | $14,972,959,359 | WISE | $3,002,342,007 | APPOMATTOX | $1,391,514,004 | ||
| NEWPORT NEWS | $14,799,216,707 | KING GEORGE | $2,918,171,318 | KING WILLIAM | $1,369,736,634 | ||
| SPOTSYLVANIA | $13,818,109,997 | BUCHANAN | $2,917,309,177 | GILES | $1,366,965,145 | ||
| FAUQUIER | $12,278,132,244 | CAROLINE | $2,897,279,241 | ESSEX | $1,357,424,541 | ||
| HANOVER | $12,157,555,498 | ROCKBRIDGE | $2,895,879,004 | SCOTT | $1,316,392,050 | ||
| HAMPTON | $11,758,731,282 | WINCHESTER | $2,847,348,973 | AMELIA | $1,298,617,031 | ||
| JAMES CITY | $11,054,409,862 | WYTHE | $2,780,399,837 | LEE | $1,205,703,288 | ||
| SUFFOLK | $9,459,061,224 | PRINCE GEORGE | $2,778,896,445 | CHARLOTTE | $1,201,445,239 | ||
| BEDFORD COUNTY | $9,245,698,586 | TAZEWELL | $2,762,284,383 | ALLEGHANY | $1,175,820,479 | ||
| ROCKINGHAM | $8,982,173,489 | AMHERST | $2,758,765,921 | MANASSAS PARK | $1,142,753,065 | ||
| YORK | $8,965,497,865 | PULASKI | $2,752,597,007 | BRISTOL | $1,136,159,178 | ||
| ROANOKE COUNTY | $8,590,939,088 | DINWIDDIE | $2,688,630,617 | SUSSEX | $1,092,291,395 | ||
| FREDERICK | $8,535,491,577 | CARROLL | $2,659,768,167 | NOTTOWAY | $1,052,238,698 | ||
| AUGUSTA | $8,049,434,045 | LANCASTER | $2,637,698,955 | RICHMOND COUNTY | $991,346,961 | ||
| PORTSMOUTH | $7,698,295,515 | MIDDLESEX | $2,618,334,113 | CUMBERLAND | $918,225,184 | ||
| ROANOKE CITY | $7,515,082,242 | NEW KENT | $2,546,517,115 | LUNENBURG | $909,798,373 | ||
| FRANKLIN COUNTY | $7,433,167,736 | SURRY | $2,507,255,503 | KING AND QUEEN | $844,629,169 | ||
| MONTGOMERY | $7,406,337,909 | BATH | $2,403,813,787 | CHARLES CITY | $840,659,275 | ||
| LOUISA | $7,060,553,256 | CLARKE | $2,271,672,708 | RADFORD | $792,016,794 | ||
| FAIRFAX CITY | $5,420,557,774 | PAGE | $2,248,132,145 | HIGHLAND | $752,588,751 | ||
| CHARLOTTESVILLE | $5,274,867,817 | DANVILLE | $2,219,574,811 | MARTINSVILLE | $721,043,127 | ||
| LYNCHBURG | $5,202,440,442 | SALEM | $2,176,262,774 | GREENSVILLE | $709,618,998 | ||
| WASHINGTON | $4,978,666,407 | GREENE | $2,172,680,802 | BLAND | $699,060,841 | ||
| GOOCHLAND | $4,877,613,330 | NORTHAMPTON | $2,146,049,342 | LEXINGTON | $583,302,721 | ||
| CULPEPER | $4,691,768,733 | MADISON | $2,054,720,020 | FRANKLIN CITY | $574,185,536 | ||
| ISLE OF WIGHT | $4,690,520,732 | RUSSELL | $2,026,485,412 | CRAIG | $515,879,930 | ||
| SHENANDOAH | $4,676,023,104 | RAPPAHANNOCK | $1,989,227,128 | COLONIAL BEACH | $465,787,441 | ||
| PITTSYLVANIA | $4,594,190,563 | WESTMORELAND | $1,954,052,022 | GALAX | $427,661,722 | ||
| MANASSAS | $4,349,195,692 | PETERSBURG | $1,929,357,623 | EMPORIA | $390,416,201 | ||
| CAMPBELL | $4,158,654,408 | SMYTH | $1,920,987,717 | BUENA VISTA | $355,050,627 | ||
| WARREN | $4,105,672,162 | WILLIAMSBURG | $1,864,368,962 | COVINGTON | $328,772,750 | ||
| GLOUCESTER | $4,084,226,554 | WAYNESBORO | $1,840,759,091 | WEST POINT | $323,178,179 | ||
| MECKLENBURG | $3,981,890,432 | BUCKINGHAM | $1,807,489,543 | NORTON | $239,791,053 |
1. "Composite Index of Local Ability to Pay 2014-2016," Virginia Department of Education, http://www.doe.virginia.gov/school_finance/budget/compositeindex_local_abilitypay/ (last checked March 10, 2014)