Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Fair Lakes costs more to live in than 88% of U.S. towns
It ranks #228 of 253 in Virginia for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Fair Lakes’ area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($127K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 31% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 40% of renters.
In dollars
- $2,670a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 109prices across the Washington metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 151)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$127K, Washington-area income
- 23%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 40%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Virginia: 49%Census 2020–24
- 31%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Fair Lakes
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 0.96% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 0.73% across Virginia. The median bill is $5,661 (Virginia: $2,790). On the typical home, that’s about $550 a month. Property taxes ↓
Mostly newer homes
Half of Fair Lakes’ homes were built after 1998, against 1984 for Virginia as a whole. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Fair Lakes, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Fair Lakes’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Fair Lakes is more affordable than 12% of U.S. towns, #228 of 253 in Virginia. The four inputs sit close together, so no single cost explains the grade.
Home prices up 41% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Fair Lakes rose 41% over the past 5 years, slower than across Virginia (49%). Last year prices rose 2.7%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Fair Lakes home at roughly $687,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $687K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Fair Lakes, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 9 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 4.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Fair Lakes’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $197K short of a typical Fair Lakes home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,670 a month here, $1,480 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Fair Lakes’s typical property tax (0.96% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,670
Renters already here pay a median of $2,419, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Property tax runs above the Virginia norm
The median bill is $5,661 (Virginia: $2,790), 0.96% of a home’s value a year, against 0.73% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Fair Lakes
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, or Virginia. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 109 | VA 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 105 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 107 | VA 92 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 102 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Fair Lakes vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Fair Lakes. Union Mill and Greenbriar and Fair Oaks have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Lakes | D | — | $588K | 0.96% | $2,670 |
| Fair Oaks | D | — | $608K | 0.99% | $2,680 |
| Greenbriar | C− | — | $663K | 0.96% | $2,710 |
| Centreville | C− | $615K | $591K | 1.03% | $2,450 |
| Union Mill | C | — | $961K | 1.04%+ | $2,510 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Fair Lakes
Is Fair Lakes expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Fair Lakes costs more than 88% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #228 of 253 in Virginia. The typical home costs 4.6 years of the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K).
How much is rent in Fair Lakes?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,670 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $2,419 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Fair Lakes?
The median bill is $5,661 a year, 0.96% of the median home value (Virginia: $2,790, 0.73%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Fair Lakes buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.