One Of Virginia's Wealthiest Suburbs In 2025 Is A Charming Gem With A Gorgeous Arts And Culture Park

There's a Washington, D.C., suburb best known for Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts — the only national park in the United States dedicated to celebrating the performing arts – that is such an appealing place to live that it attracts some of America's wealthiest residents. Ranked No. 20 on the 2025 list of America's wealthiest suburbs by GOBankingRates, Wolf Trap, in Northern Virginia, is just a stone's throw from other suburbs such as Tyson's Corner, Falls Church, and Reston. 

A census-designated place with a population of 16,000, Wolf Trap offers low crime rates and highly rated schools that appeal to high-net-worth individuals. Plus, it's only 23 minutes by car from Washington and 12 miles from Dulles International Airport. Wolf Trap's residents earn an average household annual income of $316,271, and home values average $1,196,770. According to Niche, education levels far surpass the national average: Half of Wolf Trap's adult residents hold a master's degree or higher (compared with the national average of 14%), while only 16% lack a bachelor's degree (versus 65% nationwide).

GOBankingRates ranked suburbs with at least 5,000 households in metropolitan statistical areas, identifying those with the highest average household incomes. Average home values were drawn from the Zillow Home Value Index for May 2025. 

A rural, wooded retreat, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts blends world-class entertainment with rolling meadows, forested trails, and a welcoming sense of community. In many ways, it's similar to Tanglewood, New England's most cherished outdoor concert venue. 

From May through September, Wolf Trap's stages come alive with more than 80 performances spanning opera, musicals, jazz, dance, country, and pop across multiple venues. The signature amphitheater is the 7,000-seat indoor-outdoor Filene Center, with a lawn where you can picnic under the stars. Food is available on the premises, but patrons may also bring their own. The Barns at Wolf Trap, a 382-seat year-round venue, hosts chamber music, jazz, bluegrass, and comedy shows, while the Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods offers kid-friendly performances such as puppet shows.

You don't have to see a concert to enjoy the park. With 65 acres of woodland, streams, and wetlands, it's a haven for birds, wildflowers, and city dwellers. Hike the 2.5-mile Wolf Trap Trail, which winds through forests and wetlands or the 1.5-mile family-friendly TRACK Trail. On the first Sunday of each month, rangers or volunteers lead guided walks. If you've ever wondered what the view from the stage is like or how Wolf Trap workers make the magic happen, take a Backstage Tour when peak season is over, from October through April. Admission to the park is free year-round; only performances require tickets. 

One longtime resident wrote on Niche about Wolf Trap: "I love the proximity to great food and shopping in Vienna and Tysons, and to transportation, both the metro and the highway ... There is a very strong sense of community here. Another wrote: "The community is super family friendly and great to live in! So many beautiful homes!" The top-rated thing to do around Wolf Trap, according to Tripadvisor, is exploring the 95-acre Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia, less than two miles away.

Wolf Trap is surrounded by other affluent communities, inluding the underrated riverside town of McLean, three miles away. With an average household income of $364,591 and a home value of $1,741,410, McLean is the only Virginia suburb that outranks Wolf Trap on the GOBankingRates list, coming in at No. 12. The area features a Ritz-Carlton as well as several Marriott and Hilton hotels. A Wolf Trap-preferred property, the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, is five minutes from the Silver Line Metro, has a pool and restaurant and offers rooms starting at $175 per night, as of this writing. The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, attached to the Tysons Galleria mall, has a spa and restaurant, with rooms starting at $266.

If you're a beer lover and a fan of the visual arts, there's another town eight miles from Wolf Trap you could visit. The Virginia town of Herndon has been called a rising star for its breweries and art galleries.