IdylwoodVA
Home to 17,559 people, the town was settled in 1920.
Why does Idylwood grade so well?
Idylwood does especially well on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country. What holds it back is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $757K, 6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of 41st of 249 in Virginia. Set against the rest, it does better than 92% of U.S. towns. The town is home to University of the Potomac-VA Campus. 63% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, above both Virginia’s towns (44%) and U.S. towns (29%). On hazard risk, just 27 of Virginia’s 372 towns do better. The median household earns $120K.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index.
What makes Idylwood stand out
Where Idylwood beats most towns.
University of the Potomac-VA Campus calls Idylwood home
How Idylwood grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Idylwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 11%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
White House and 252 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Idylwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw9 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw7 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw8 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw10 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw8 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M visitors a yearPhoto credits
White 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
Moving to Idylwood: who provides what
Idylwood 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Idylwood.
Idylwood has less tooth loss than most of Virginia and has an unusually large share working from home, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Virginia.
Idylwood earns an A+ for health
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 6.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide.
26% of Idylwood adults have high blood pressure. The town does better than the Virginia average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 2.
| Idylwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 34% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Idylwood | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.8% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.8% | 6.2% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.2% | 76.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Idylwood’s public schools outperform 74% of Virginia districts
Three of its 6 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is Marshall High, with 2,200 students. Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timber Lane ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 584 | C |
| Marshall HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,200 | B+ |
| Shrevewood ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 579 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Idylwood keeps 6.2% of its land conserved
Across 6 parks and preserves: 3.2 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Jefferson District Park, at 61 acres. Idylwood’s trail network density is 1.1 miles per square mile.
| Idylwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.2% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jefferson District Park | 0.8 mi | 61 |
| 2. Poplar Heights Recreation Association | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 3. Idylwood Park | 0.1 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazards: very low risk in Idylwood, mostly inland flooding
Of the losses FEMA expects in Idylwood, 60% come from inland flooding and 11% from hurricanes. Compared with 93% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 2006: 8.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Idylwood’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.5 jobs for each of them
27% of workers work from home, against 18.3% across Virginia.
For residents in Idylwood, the share who live below the poverty line is 5.5%. Most working residents leave Idylwood for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (16%), Tysons (11%) and Arlington (11%).
| Idylwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $120,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Idylwood: four seasons and pleasant summers
The range runs from 26° on a January night to 87° on a July afternoon, with about 6 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median home in Idylwood sells for about $557K
At 6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 80% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $7,892, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
In Idylwood, 55% of households own their home. Its rent at the middle of the market stands at $2,045 a month. Bidding over the asking price: nearly two in five homes sold locally.
| Idylwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,045 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 55% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Idylwood
Colleges nearby
35 within 15 miles of the center of Idylwood
About 7 of every 100 Idylwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
98% of working residents leave Idylwood for work
Where Idylwood’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Idylwood
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Idylwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 17,954 as of the 2020 census. It originally developed as a suburban community along the route of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, and later along Virginia State Route 7. The construction of the Capital Beltway in the 1960s, and I-66 and the Orange Line of the Washington Metrorail system in the 1980s, as well as the concurrent development of nearby Tysons Corner into Washington's leading suburban business district, led to the development of several apartment, townhouse, and small-lot single-family housing complexes, as well as the high-rise Idylwood Towers condominium, in the p…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 463 ft
Idylwood’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Idylwood.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idylwood | #41 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Falls Church | #48 | A | D | B− | A+ | A+ |
| Pimmit Hills | #28 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| West Falls Church | #84 | A− | D | — | B+ | A− |
| Dunn Loring | #29 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| McLean | #47 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Merrifield | #36 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Tysons | #55 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
Idylwood, Pimmit Hills, West Falls Church, Dunn Loring, McLean, Merrifield and Tysons report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Idylwood with a neighbor →
Questions about Idylwood
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Idylwood, VA a good place to live?
Yes, by almost any measure. Idylwood grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #41 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Idylwood, VA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $757,000, 84% 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.