Bull Run in pictures
The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 6 maps from 1933 on.
Explore the history →Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

A town of 16,859.
Bull Run is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, ranked 153rd of 249 in Virginia, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $90K. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $414K, 3.3 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. 5.8% of residents are 65 or older in Bull Run, against 16% in Virginia’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Bull Run is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 81% of U.S. towns. Among 253 Virginia towns, just 9 have a lower share of households owning their home than Bull Run.
Where Bull Run beats most towns.
14,983 counted in 2010 and 16,794 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Bull Run is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 6 maps from 1933 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bull Run. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw27 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw25 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw26 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw28 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
10 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a yearWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bull Run is unincorporated, so Prince William County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bull Run.
2.5 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Bull Run’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Bull Run | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rosemont-Lewis Regional Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
| 2. Ellis Barron Park | — | 17 |
| 3. Bull Run Swim & Raquet Club | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Prince William County Public Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Unity Reed High, with 2,042 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| George P. Mullen ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 667 | D |
| Unity Reed HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,042 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 88% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Only 33.3% of households own their home, against 67.3% across Virginia.
People 65 and older are 6% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (23% statewide). The median age in Bull Run is 33.1 years. 40% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 42% across Virginia.
| Bull Run | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.1 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 44% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 32.4, men 33.7.
| Bull Run | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.8% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.9% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.5% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.3% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 3.6% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.2% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 17.1% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.4% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.8% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.1% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.7% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Bull Run has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 26° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Bull Run for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Bull Run grew to 6,296 in 2023, 987 more than in 2013. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Bull Run.
| Bull Run | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bull Run beats the Virginia average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 15% of Bull Run adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Bull Run | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bull Run | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4% | 6.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.3% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Bull Run
About 8 of every 100 Bull Run residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Census-designated place in Virginia, US
Bull Run is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 14,983 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bull Run grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #153 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B for health and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.