Best PlacesFairfax City, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Fairfax City, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Fairfax City ranks 13th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Fairfax City
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Fairfax City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fairfax City ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$140,390 median, better than 99% of counties
Where Fairfax City ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,512 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 4% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Short commute28.0 minutes each way, better than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Fairfax City
A household needs to earn about $199,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fairfax City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $140,390, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Fairfax City's effective rate of 0.86%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fairfax City
Fairfax City runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fairfax City.
Who works in Fairfax City, and how
Work in Fairfax City centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Fairfax City
Fairfax City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of counties and more parkland per resident than 77% of counties. The coast is about 21 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fairfax City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Fairfax City growing, and who is moving in?
Fairfax City has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Washington, DC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Fairfax City go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Fairfax City, month by month
Fairfax City sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Fairfax City
Washington Dulles International sits about 11 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Fairfax City
Schools across Fairfax City average an A, better than 96% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Daniels Run ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Providence ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frost MiddleA+ · 86% proficient
- Johnson MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Woodson HighA · 76% proficient
- Robinson SecondaryA · 76% proficient
- Fairfax HighA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fairfax City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fairfax City measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Fairfax City against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Fairfax City suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 29% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Fairfax City
Is Fairfax City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fairfax City ranks 13th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, biking, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fairfax City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $754,934. The overall cost of living runs about 29% above the national average. Set against a $140,390 median income, cost of living beats 94% of counties.
Is Fairfax City safe?
Yes, Fairfax City is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $346 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fairfax City?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 25. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of counties.
Is Fairfax City good for families?
Schools beat 96% of counties, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,512 a month.
Compare Fairfax City with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fairfax City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fairfax City represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Fairfax City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fairfax City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fairfax City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fairfax City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fairfax City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fairfax City detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.