Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0Fair Lakes has higher household incomes than 91% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 28% of workers; Virginia has 18%. Below the poverty line: 5.5% of residents, next to 9.9% across Virginia. Only 3% work in Fair Lakes itself; outside it, Washington draws the most (9%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Fair Lakes, in brief
Fair Lakes draws workers from far and wide
The 8,955 jobs in Fair Lakes are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 22%; the other 77% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fair Lakes is where the jobs are
Fair Lakes has 8,955 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 13,000 people are in town, 52% more than the 8,900 who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Fair Lakes works from home
28% of Fair Lakes workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Three in four Fair Lakes workers earn over $40,000 a year
76% of Fair Lakes’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Fair Lakes
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fair Lakes is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #43 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fair Lakes could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Commuting in to Fair Lakes: where workers come from
Where Fair Lakes clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Fair Lakes on a workday afternoon
On a workday 4,250 residents head out to work, 112 work right here, and 8,843 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Fair Lakes on a workday afternoon, 52% more than live here.
2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Fair Lakes’ commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fair Lakes workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,844 commuters (the 28% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
71% of the jobs in Fair Lakes pay over $3,333 a month
8,955 jobs are based in Fair Lakes.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fair Lakes, 2013 → 2023: 9,888 → 8,955. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fair Lakes’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Fair Lakes’ workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Fair Lakes is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Virginia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,346 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 60% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 15.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.3% of Fair Lakes households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Fair Lakes’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Fair Lakes ranks: 173rd of 2,907 U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 4 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Difficult Run VA | 9,938 | $250K | 1.4% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 171 | Oconomowoc WI | 8,849 | $115K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 172 | Greenbriar VA | 8,243 | $143K | 4.7% | 3.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 173 | Fair Lakes VA | 8,894 | $127K | 5.5% | 2.5% | 3% | A+ |
| 174 | Westwood NJ | 11,365 | $166K | 7.1% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 175 | Brandon SD | 11,306 | $111K | 1.4% | 1.2% | 17% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Fair Lakes, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Fair Lakes and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Fair Oaks (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fair Lakes workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Lakes | – | A+ | A− | 29 min | $127,332 |
| Fair Oaks | 6% | A− | A | 27 min | $123,947 |
| Greenbriar | under 3% | A+ | A+ | 30 min | $142,634 |
| Centreville | under 3% | A | A− | 28 min | $139,510 |
| Union Mill | under 3% | A+ | B− | 37 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fair Lakes’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Fair Lakes: questions
What is the median household income in Fair Lakes?
$127,332 (±$16,619) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fair Lakes?
5.5%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fair Lakes?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fair Lakes work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (9%, 20 mi), Tysons (7%, 10 mi), Arlington (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fair Lakes walkable?
Fair Lakes is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fair Lakes without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 60% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fair Lakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fair Lakes
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.