Alexandria, Virginia Eviction Risk: Elevated

Alexandria city County carries an average eviction-risk score of 5.8/10 (Elevated), placing it among the higher-risk markets in Virginia, ranked 8th out of 132 counties statewide. That means only 7 Virginia eviction laws counties are riskier for landlords, while 124 are comparatively more landlord-friendly. Across the county's 2 incorporated places, average rent runs $2,079 per month, 56.5% of residents rent rather than own, and an average rent-burden rate of 28.2% signals that a meaningful share of tenants are stretched financially, a combination that feeds eviction pressure when income disruptions hit.

The county's intra-market range is tight, from 5.9 to 6, so there is little geographic escape within Alexandria city County itself. Investors should treat the county score as a real baseline rather than an average pulled down by quieter outlying communities.

The cities inside Alexandria city County

Alexandria is the county's population center, home to roughly 156,976 residents and scoring 5.9/10, matching the county ceiling. Given that Alexandria accounts for the overwhelming majority of the county's 163,546 total residents, landlord conditions here set the tone for the entire market. High renter-share neighborhoods, a competitive apartment stock, and proximity to a large transient workforce make tenant turnover and payment volatility an active management concern.

Belle Haven, the county's smaller community at roughly 6,570 residents, scores 4/10, fractionally lower than Alexandria but still firmly in Elevated territory. The gap is narrow enough that risk is effectively uniform across the county, though Belle Haven's smaller rental stock can mean thinner comps and slower re-leasing windows when a unit does turn over. The takeaway for investors is that risk here is hyper-local in character but not hyper-local in relief: there is no low-risk pocket to find inside Alexandria city County.

State-level laws that apply here

Virginia state law under Va. Code § 55.1-1200 et seq. governs every tenancy in Alexandria city County. For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 5 days. Material lease violations require a 21-day cure notice, non-curable material breaches require 30 days, and ending a month-to-month tenancy also requires 30 days. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested matters can run 45 to 120 days, a range that meaningfully affects carrying costs on a vacant or non-paying unit.

Direct costs scale quickly. Court filing fees run $58 to $90, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and attorney fees, if retained, range from $500 to $3,000. Virginia does not require just cause for termination and the state preempts local rent-control ordinances, so landlords here have more statutory flexibility than in many comparable urban markets. Reviewing the Virginia eviction process and understanding Virginia eviction costs in full before acquiring rental property in Alexandria city County is time well spent, given how quickly a contested proceeding can compound expenses.

With a poverty rate of 8.3% and more than half of all residents renting, Alexandria city County's financial profile underscores why the Elevated risk score is well-grounded; the city grid above breaks down individual scores for Alexandria and Belle Haven so you can compare risk at the neighborhood level.