Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, settled in 1852, counts 12,566 residents.
A well-rated place to live, with prices to match. Its strongest subject is health: it is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns. It also does well on incomes: the median household earns $212K. The drawback is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $897K, 7.1 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of 72nd of 249 in Virginia. Nationally, it does better than 88% of U.S. towns. St. Mary's Church is on the National Register of Historic Places. The biggest park or preserve is Popes Head Park, at 75 acres.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where Fairfax Station beats most towns.
Where Fairfax Station’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Fairfax Station is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1863 and 7 maps from 1915 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairfax Station. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw17 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw16 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw16 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw18 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M 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 · Lincoln Memorial: Aerial_view_of_Lincoln_Memorial_-_east_side.jpg: Carol M. Highsmith derivative w, Public domain
Fairfax Station 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 Fairfax Station.
Fairfax Station has less tooth loss than most of Virginia and sends most of its workers to Washington and beyond, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Virginia.
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 4.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide. Against the 830 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fairfax Station’s, it is healthier than 60%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
The share of adults in Fairfax Station who get no exercise outside work: 16%. Among adults locally, 23% have obesity, below both the Virginia town median (34%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). This Virginia town beats the Virginia average on 24 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Fairfax Station | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.6% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fairfax Station | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.4% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.8% | 13.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its two schools are below. Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools. Enrollment at Fairfax Station’s public school: 718 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonnie Brae ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 718 | B+ |
| Fairfax Baptist Temple Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 376 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Fairfax Station has 1,141 jobs for its 5,268 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 32.4% of workers work from home, against 18.3% across Virginia.
Among working residents in Fairfax Station, 1.3% work locally. Jobs based in Fairfax Station grew to 1,141 in 2023, 237 more than in 2013. In Fairfax Station, the mean commuting time is 30 minutes, against 27 minutes in Virginia’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. The top destinations are Washington (11%), Springfield (8%) and Arlington (8%).
| Fairfax Station | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 32% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $212,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.7% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Just over three quarters of Fairfax Station’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 7%. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in three quarters of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out here.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
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
Walkers can cover 3.0 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. Fairfax Station’s density of trails comes in at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Fairfax Station | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Woodglen Lake Park | 1.3 mi | 63 |
| 2. Popes Head Park | — | 75 |
| 3. Piney Branch Stream Valley Park | — | 45 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7.1 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 92% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. 69.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.5% across Virginia.
A home in Fairfax Station typically sold within 40 days of listing. In Fairfax Station, the median rent is $2,794 a month. For households here, the share who own their home is 94%.
| Fairfax Station | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,794 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 94% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
10 within 15 miles of the center of Fairfax Station
About 6 of every 100 Fairfax Station residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Fairfax Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 12,420 at the 2020 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is located 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Washington, D.C.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Fairfax Station.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax Station | #72 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Union Mill | #50 | A | C | — | B+ | A+ |
| Braddock | #79 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Burke Centre | #59 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Burke | #58 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Kings Park West | #33 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
Fairfax Station, Union Mill, Braddock, Burke Centre, Burke and Kings Park West report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fairfax Station with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fairfax Station grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #72 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $897,000, 118% above the Virginia typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including Kaleigh Riehl and Holly Hellmuth.
