Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 7,034 people, this town lies in Virginia.
Long Branch’s strongest subject is incomes (A+): the median household earns $185K. Taken together, its subjects give Long Branch an A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns. The ranking puts it 4th of 249 in Virginia. What holds it back is cost of living (C+): the typical home is worth about $842K, 6.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. Only 33 of Virginia’s 372 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest place to walk is Long Branch Stream Valley Park, 66 acres with 2 miles of trail. Only 17 of Virginia’s 372 towns score higher on hazard risk. The town is healthier than 96% of U.S. towns.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · health, CDC PLACES · USGS PAD-US · OpenStreetMap.
Where Long Branch beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Long Branch | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.2% | 7.1% |
8.2% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Long Branch is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 21,634 in 1970, 7,890 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1811 and 7 maps from 1915 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Long Branch. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw13 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw11 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw12 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw14 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw12 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
Long Branch 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 Long Branch.
Long Branch has less utility shut-off threats 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.
Trails total 4.0 miles in 7 parks and preserves. Long Branch’s density of trails comes in at 1.6 miles per square mile.
| Long Branch | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.6 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.2% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Long Branch Stream Valley Park | 2 mi | 66 |
| 2. Rutherford Park | 0.4 mi | 21 |
| 3. George Mason Park | 0.4 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of its 5 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is Woodson High, with 2,436 students. Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frost MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 1,272 | A |
| Woodson HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,436 | B+ |
| Little Run ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 264 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Virginia is utility shut-off threats: 3.2% of its 6,193 adults were threatened with a utility shut-off, against 7.1% statewide. Against the 1,237 U.S. towns with household incomes like Long Branch’s, it is healthier than 57%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Long Branch: nearly a third of adults sleep under 7 hours, below both the Virginia town median (36%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). For adults in the town, the share who say their health is fair or poor is 12%. Only 5 of the 253 Virginia towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have obesity than Long Branch.
| Long Branch | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.7% | 12% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Long Branch | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.2% | 7.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.3% | 10.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Long Branch’s natural-hazard score from FEMA stands at 9 of 100, below both Virginia’s towns (22 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). Flood insurance has paid out on 5 claims in the town since 1979. Expected losses in Long Branch break down as 64% from inland flooding and 10% from hurricanes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Long Branch has 551 jobs for its 3,076 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 777 in 2013 to 551.
Only 2% of working residents stay in Long Branch for work; the rest commute out. Since 2013, Long Branch has lost 226 jobs, to 551 in 2023. Among workers in the town, 31% do their job from home. Half commute less than 10 miles.
| Long Branch | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 31% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $185,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.6% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In July, afternoons reach 87°; in January, nights fall to 26°, and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 6.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 88% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living. 68.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.5% across Virginia.
In Long Branch, 85% of households are owner-occupiers. Homes sold in Long Branch spent a median 2 days on the market. Bidding over the asking price: 56% of homes sold in the town.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
26 within 15 miles of the center of Long Branch
About 6 of every 100 Long Branch residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Where Long Branch’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Long Branch is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, bordering the city of Fairfax. The population as of the 2010 census was 7,593.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Long Branch.
At #4 in VA, it grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; Mantua (A+) comes closest.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Branch | #4 | A+ | C+ | — | B+ | A+ |
| Wakefield | #37 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Fairfax | #164 | B | D | C− | — | A |
| George Mason | – | A− | D | — | B+ | A |
| Kings Park West | #33 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Burke | #58 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Mantua | #11 | A+ | C | — | B+ | A+ |
Long Branch, Wakefield, George Mason, Kings Park West, Burke and Mantua report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Long Branch with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Long Branch grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #4 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A+ for health and B+ for schools.
The typical home is worth about $842,000, 104% 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 C+.
