More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #225 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Fair Oaks was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1915 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fair Oaks is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #225 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fair Oaks’ overall grade.
Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fair Oaks’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Fair Oaks’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Fair Oaks on the map, 1915 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fair Oaks. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1915Fairfax sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fair Oaks.
The story so far
Fair Oaks, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fair Oaks yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Fair Oaks is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population at the 2020 census was 34,052. It encompasses a large area west of the city of Fairfax, centered on Fair Oaks Mall. Suburban neighborhoods and office parks occupy most of Fair Oaks, largely developed since the 1980s. The Fair Oaks CDP is bordered by Fair Lakes and Greenbriar to the west, and by Oakton and Fairfax city to the east. The Fair Oaks Mall is at the center of the CDP, in the angle formed by U.S. Route 50 to the northeast and Interstate 66 to the south, which intersect at I-66's Exit 57. I-66 leads east 19 miles (31 km) to Washington, D.C., and west 61 miles (98 km) to Strasburg. U.S. …
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 30,223 to 34,052 (+13%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Fair Oaks, 1861 to 1915
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Fair Oaks is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #225 of 253 in Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Fair Oaks?
0.1% of Fair Oaks’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1999.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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