Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 24,036, settled in 1832.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Chantilly grades A overall, 77th among Virginia's 249 graded towns. It has 13 miles of trail. The median household earns $157K and it is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $799K, 6.3 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. Chantilly’s median household income is $157,000, against $101,000 in Virginia’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Chantilly is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. Sully is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Chantilly beats most towns.
20.9% of the town is conserved land, across 12 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Chantilly is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 12%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 12,259 in 1980, a peak of 41,041 in 2000, 24,301 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 7 maps from 1915 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chantilly. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw22 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw20 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
2 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a year
Big draw21 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw22 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M 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 · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain
Chantilly 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 Chantilly.
Chantilly draws workers from Centreville and beyond and has less tooth loss than most of Virginia, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Virginia.
At 6.3 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $799K) costs more against local pay than in 84% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $6,580, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Chantilly’s median rent is $2,312 a month. The typical Chantilly home is worth about $799,000, up 0.8% in a year, 94% above the Virginia typical home. 81% of Chantilly households own their home.
| Chantilly | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,312 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Fairfax County Public Schools. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Run MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 882 | A+ |
| Westfield HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,737 | C+ |
| Poplar Tree ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 683 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
51,712 jobs are based in Chantilly, 4.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Chantilly for work: only 10% work in town. 24% of workers work from home in Chantilly. Jobs based in Chantilly grew to 51,712 in 2023, 10,113 more than in 2013.
| Chantilly | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 24% | 17% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 4.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 6.5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide. Against the 2,341 U.S. towns with household incomes like Chantilly’s, it is healthier than 55%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Chantilly beats the Virginia average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. Among 253 Virginia towns, just 8 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Chantilly.
| Chantilly | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Chantilly | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.5% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The trail density in Chantilly is 1.1 miles per square mile. Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, at 439 acres with 6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ellanor C. Lawrence Park | 6 mi | 439 |
| 2. Richard W Jones Park | 1.1 mi | 245 |
| 3. Flatlick Stream Valley Park | 0.8 mi | 69 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Chantilly has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 26° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 2005, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chantilly.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Chantilly
About 7 of every 100 Chantilly residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Where Chantilly’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
CDP in Virginia, United States
Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Northern Virginia portion of the Washington metropolitan area, Chantilly is about 25 miles (40 km) west of Washington, D.C., via Interstate 66 and U.S. Route 50. It is located between Centreville to the south, Herndon and Reston to the north and northeast, respectively, and Fairfax 7 miles (11 km) to the southeast. U.S. Route 50 and Virginia State Route 28 intersect in Chantilly, and these highways provide access to the Dulles/Reston/Tysons Corner technology corridor and other major employment centers in Northern Virginia and Washin…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Chantilly.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chantilly | #77 | A | D | — | B+ | A |
| Centreville | #85 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Franklin Farm | #16 | A+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Sully Square | — | — | C | — | B+ | A+ |
| Bull Run | #123 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Greenbriar | #32 | A | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Navy | #42 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
Sully Square has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Chantilly, Centreville, Franklin Farm, Sully Square, Bull Run, Greenbriar and Navy report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Chantilly with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Chantilly grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #77 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
