Best PlacesMcLean, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the McLean area, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McLean ranks 6th of 2098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on good schools and lowest on noise.
The best neighborhoods in McLean
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.
McLean's strengths and weaknesses
Where McLean ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 100% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of cities
- Household income$235,226 median, better than 99% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of cities
Where McLean ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,520 a month, better than only 12% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 19% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in McLean
A household needs to earn about $408,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McLean home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $235,226, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment and a 6.8% 30-year fixed rate. The rate updates weekly from Freddie Mac; property tax uses McLean's effective rate against the median home value.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first ten 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 McLean
McLean runs older than the country, 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 McLean.
Who works in McLean, and how
Work in McLean centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in McLean
McLean has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of cities and more parkland per resident than 96% of cities. The coast is about 26 minutes away. The map and measures below show how they vary by area.
What the weather is like in McLean, month by month
McLean sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 30. Spring and fall carry most of the comfortable stretch.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of McLean
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 10 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 McLean
Schools across McLean average an A+, better than 100% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Colvin Run ElementaryA+ · 89% proficient
- Haycock ElementaryA+ · 89% proficient
- Kent Gardens ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
Top middle schools
- Williamsburg MiddleA+ · 90% proficient
- Longfellow MiddleA+ · 90% proficient
- Cooper MiddleA+ · 88% proficient
Top high schools
- Mclean HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Langley HighA · 79% proficient
- Arlington Community HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McLean school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McLean 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 McLean against the other 2097 cities.
Who McLean suits
Families
Schools beat 100% of the country and crime runs low. Compare neighborhoods on the map for the best fit.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of cities and 38% already work from home.
Common questions about living in McLean
Is McLean a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McLean ranks 6th of 2098 cities. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and high incomes, and lowest on noise and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McLean expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,499,548. The overall cost of living runs about 51% above the national average. Set against a $235,226 median income, cost of living beats 98% of cities.
Is McLean safe?
Yes, McLean is safer than 97% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $179 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McLean?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 30. The area gets its pleasant stretches in spring and fall.
Is McLean good for families?
Schools beat 100% of cities, and safety is best away from the urban core. Home prices are usually the catch in the strongest school areas.
Compare McLean with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McLean. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McLean 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.
McLean detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McLean: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McLean: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McLean: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McLean: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McLean 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.
- 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.