This story is Part 3 of 海角社区app’s three-part series “On the Move: The D.C. region’s population trends.”
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Families are increasingly moving away from the D.C. region, a trend that鈥檚 especially true in one of the wealthiest Virginia suburbs.
Loudoun County is the only D.C. area suburb that didn鈥檛 add to its 25-44 age group population, according to a 海角社区app analysis of census data from 2024. It lost 101 people in that age bracket from 2023 to 2024, and also experienced a decline from 2022 to 2023.
Remote work flexibility, opportunity and cost of living could be contributing to that trend, two experts said.
Younger adults are starting to begin families later than previous generations, and 鈥渋f you get to the point where a two-bedroom condo doesn鈥檛 cut it anymore, you really need a three bedroom. We don鈥檛 build that many three-bedroom houses or apartments,鈥� Terry Clower, director at George Mason University鈥檚 Center for Regional Analysis, said.
If two young professionals are searching for a house they can afford, Clower said they鈥檙e increasingly considering places such as Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta or Dallas.
鈥淟and is cheaper out further and of course, it’s a supply and demand issue,鈥� Clower said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 been building many houses in the core.鈥�
The result, Clower said, is a 鈥減ersistent challenge鈥� in retaining young family households across the D.C. region. In the case of Loudoun County, Clower described it as one of the wealthiest counties in the area. The cost of housing is higher, he said, and while 鈥渕ore modest housing has been built,鈥� there isn鈥檛 enough to meet the demand.
Instead of considering the closest immediate suburbs, families are looking to buy homes in Frederick, Maryland, Jefferson County, West Virginia, and Stafford and Spotsylvania counties in Virginia.
Peter Leonard-Morgan, president of the Dulles Area Association of Realtors, said Loudoun County hasn鈥檛 been attracting younger people because there鈥檚 鈥渁 bit of a crisis of affordability.鈥� From August 2024 to August 2025, prices went up 2.4%, closed sales increased by 12% and pending sales rose 50%, he said.
鈥淭he balance is not there,鈥� Leonard-Morgan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 becoming very difficult for folks who are certainly getting on the income ladder, on the work ladder, to buy anything in Loudoun County.鈥�
Some families have been moving to Winchester, Leonard-Morgan said, because there have been a lot of new homes getting built. Others have been leaving Loudoun County because the opportunity presents itself.
If kids have left home for college or work, families have started downsizing.
鈥淚 see that dynamic of a lot of folks moving out of Northern Virginia,鈥� Leonard-Morgan said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e either retiring or they鈥檙e empty nesters, and they can buy an amazing property over in Delaware where the prices are a lot less, and there鈥檚 a lot of construction going on of very nice homes.鈥�
Inflation and cost of living are motivating factors to move away, too.
鈥淚 do know people who have either thought or moved much further afield to places, maybe the Carolinas, for example, where you can have a great lifestyle for less money,鈥� Leonard-Morgan said. 鈥淭hat is a concern.鈥�
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