Lorton is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 17,760 people and five constituent neighborhoods, Lorton is the 56th largest community in Virginia.

Unlike some towns, Lorton isn't mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Lorton are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Lorton is a town of sales and office workers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Lorton who work in office and administrative support jobs (17.50%), management occupations (11.84%), and sales jobs (9.75%).

Also of interest is that Lorton has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

There are quite a few people in the armed forces living in Lorton, and when you visit or drive around town, you will see military people in and out of uniform, shopping, enjoying life, and being part of the community.

Lorton, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the town.

Because of many things, Lorton is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Lorton really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Lorton perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic night life, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Lorton are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

In Lorton, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 34.15 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

Lorton Information and Demographics

The education level of Lorton citizens is substantially higher than the average US city or town, as 29.00% of adults in Lorton have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Lorton in 2000 was $25,146, which is upper middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $100,584 for a family of four. However, Lorton contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Lorton is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Lorton home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Lorton is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Lorton include German, Irish, English, and Italian.

In addition, Lorton has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (15.37%).

The most common language spoken in Lorton is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.