Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,823, settled in 1842.
Bull Run does the important things well, at a cost. Its standout strength is health — CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 97% of the country. Incomes are another plus — the median household earns $242K. What holds it back is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $919K, 7.3 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. All told, that adds up to a B+ overall and a rank of 123rd of 249 in Virginia. On that grade it does better than 72% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 5 of Virginia’s 372 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Elklick Woodlands Natural Area Preserve, at 1,616 acres.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · USGS PAD-US · OpenStreetMap.
Where Bull Run beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Bull Run | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.7% | 11.1% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bull Run Elementary | PK–6 | 766 |
| Virginia Run Elementary | PK–6 | 724 |
| Bull Run Early Childhood Resource Center | PK | 236 |
41.1% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
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 3 old photos and papers going back to 2018 and 5 maps from 1951 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bull Run. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw25 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw23 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw23 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw25 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
6 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 Fairfax 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.
Bull Run has less tooth loss than most of Virginia and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Virginia, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Virginia (mostly inland flooding).
Its 3,934 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Virginia towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #6 of 253 in Virginia.
Count the trails in 7 parks and preserves and they come to 25 miles. Bull Run’s density of trails stands at 1.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bull Run Regional Park | 7.4 mi | 1,141 |
| 2. Manassas National Battlefield Park | 5.9 mi | 434 |
| 3. Elklick Woodlands Natural Area Preserve | 0.3 mi | 1,616 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. 3 public schools serve Bull Run, with 1,726 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bull Run ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 766 | B |
| Ad Fontes Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 180 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 3.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide. Against the 490 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bull Run’s, it is less healthy than 63%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Among adults in Bull Run, 7.4% smoke cigarettes. Bull Run: nearly a quarter of adults have obesity, below both the Virginia town median (34%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%).
| Bull Run | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bull Run | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.7% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.4% | 13.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 751 in 2013 to 1,044. 32.4% of workers work from home, against 18.3% across Virginia.
Bull Run: 2.2% of working residents work locally, where Virginia’s towns sit at 5% and U.S. towns at 8%. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 293, to 1,044. Its typical journey to work stands at 34 minutes. Also worth knowing: only 10 of the 253 Virginia towns we compare have a higher middle household income than Bull Run.
| Bull Run | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $242,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The range runs from 26° on a January night to 88° on a July afternoon, with about 21 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of Virginia towns, with expected losses of about $657 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Flood insurance has paid out on 3 claims in Bull Run since 2008. The town’s FEMA risk score comes in at 57 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 85% come from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Bull Run
About 6 of every 100 Bull Run residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Where Bull Run’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Virginia
Bull Run is a census designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It has an area of 14.42 square miles.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Bull Run.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bull Run | #123 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Centreville | #85 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Yorkshire | #146 | B | C+ | — | B | B− |
| Sudley | #173 | B− | C | — | B | B− |
| Chantilly | #77 | A | D | — | B+ | A |
| Loch Lomond | #168 | B− | C | — | B | B− |
Bull Run, Centreville, Yorkshire, Sudley, Chantilly and Loch Lomond report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bull Run with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bull Run grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #123 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
