Best PlacesFairfax County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Fairfax County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Fairfax County ranks 4th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $166,456, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, childcare costs, and the weather.
The best neighborhoods in Fairfax County
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.
The best areas in Fairfax County
The parts of Fairfax County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
McLean
Local pay stretches further, schools score higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Tysons Corner, Vienna & Wolf Trap
Incomes run higher, though homes cost more.
Reston, Herndon & McNair
Crime runs lower and transit reaches more jobs.
Burke, West Springfield & Lorton
Tree cover is thicker and more residents vote.
Centreville & Fair Oaks
Fewer households have young kids.
Fairfax & Annandale
Alexandria & Franconia
Scores close to Fairfax & Annandale, except that it is quieter here.
Falls Church, Lincolnia & West Falls Church
Streets are more walkable, though health care is harder to reach.
Fairfax County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 9% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Fairfax County's strengths and weaknesses
Fairfax County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. An educated workforce and population health follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. Childcare costs and the weather also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Fairfax County ranks high
- Household income$166,456 median, better than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
Where Fairfax County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,512 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Short commute28.9 minutes each way, better than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Fairfax County
A household needs to earn about $202,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fairfax County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $166,456, 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 County's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 County
Fairfax County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fairfax County.
Who works in Fairfax County, and how
Work in Fairfax County centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Fairfax County
Fairfax County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of counties and more parkland per resident than 74% of counties. The coast is about 21 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fairfax County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Fairfax County growing, and who is moving in?
Fairfax County has grown about 2% 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 County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Fairfax County, month by month
Fairfax County 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 County
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 12 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Fairfax County
Schools across Fairfax County average an A−, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Poplar Tree ElementaryA+ · 92% proficient
- Sangster ElementaryA+ · 91% proficient
- Colvin Run ElementaryA+ · 89% proficient
Top middle schools
- Longfellow MiddleA+ · 90% proficient
- Cooper MiddleA+ · 88% proficient
- Carson MiddleA+ · 88% proficient
Top high schools
- Thomas Jefferson High For Science And TechnologyA+ · 96% proficient
- Meridian HighA+ · 89% proficient
- Lake Braddock SecondaryA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fairfax County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fairfax County 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 County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Fairfax County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 29% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Fairfax County
Is Fairfax County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fairfax County ranks 4th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on high incomes, an educated workforce, and population health, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fairfax County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $756,646. The overall cost of living runs about 31% above the national average. Set against a $166,456 median income, cost of living beats 98% of counties.
Is Fairfax County safe?
Yes, Fairfax County is safer than 99% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $211 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fairfax County?
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.
What are the best neighborhoods in Fairfax County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are McLean, Tysons Corner, Vienna & Wolf Trap, and Reston, Herndon & McNair. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Fairfax County good for families?
Schools beat 95% of counties, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $1,512 a month.
Is Fairfax County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of counties. About 29% of workers already work from home.
Compare Fairfax County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fairfax County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fairfax County 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 County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fairfax County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fairfax County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fairfax County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fairfax County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fairfax County 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.