Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Virginia has a population of 2,039.
The best of Mason Neck’s subject grades are an A+ for incomes and the outdoors and an A for health; the weakest is a D for cost of living. Mason Neck’s middle household income is $168,000, against $102,000 in Virginia’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 18 of Virginia’s 370 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. 50% of the land in Mason Neck is conserved, against 4.7% in Virginia’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 16 of Virginia’s 372 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest place to walk is Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, 2,212 acres with 4 miles of trail. Mason Neck has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Mason Neck beats most towns.
Coastal flooding makes up 9% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Mason Neck is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 7 maps from 1913 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mason Neck. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw18 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw17 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw17 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw18 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw18 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
Mason Neck 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 Mason Neck.
Mason Neck’s concentration of trails stands at 1.9 miles per square mile. There are 38 miles of trail across 7 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meadowood Recreation Area | 14.3 mi | 799 |
| 2. Pohick Bay Regional Park | 10.2 mi | 990 |
| 3. Mason Neck State Park | 7 mi | 1,815 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools. Its one school is below. 530 students attend Mason Neck’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunston ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 530 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Mason Neck does better than the Virginia average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. For adults here, the share who report frequent mental distress is 13%.
| Mason Neck | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Mason Neck | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.1% | 13.1% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4% | 7.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Mason Neck rose by 99, to 501. In Mason Neck, the average commute is 29 minutes. Most working residents leave Mason Neck for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (15%), Springfield (8%) and Arlington (6%).
| Mason Neck | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 1.1% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 4.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
52% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 42% across Virginia. Adults 18 to 34 are just over one in ten residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (39% statewide). Mason Neck’s age of the median resident comes in at 48.4 years.
| Mason Neck | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.4 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 44% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 16% | 18% |
44% women, 56% men
About 128 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Mason Neck | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.9% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.2% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.5% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 23% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.6% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.3% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.2% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.7% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 28.1% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
Flood insurance has paid out on 6 claims in Mason Neck since 2003. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage here than in 70% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Mason Neck break down as 69% from inland flooding and 9% from coastal flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Mason Neck once, in 2003.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The July high for Mason Neck comes to 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Mason Neck, the median rent is $2,486 a month. Among households here, 93% are owner-occupiers.
| Mason Neck | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,486 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 93% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
6 within 15 miles of the center of Mason Neck
About 6 of every 100 Mason Neck residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
50.2% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
2 places in Mason Neck on the National Register of Historic Places.
Peninsula and community in Virginia, US
Mason Neck is a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River that is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Washington, D.C. It is surrounded by Belmont Bay to the west, the Potomac River to the south and east, Gunston Cove to the northeast, and Pohick Bay to the north-northeast. Mason Neck forms the southernmost section of Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. It comprises an area of 20.0 square miles (51.8 km2), two-thirds of which is preserved as parkland by regional, state, and national authorities. As of the 2020 census, Mason Neck had a population of 2,025.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Mason Neck.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Neck | — | — | D | — | B+ | A |
| Lorton | #116 | B+ | D | — | B+ | A− |
| Woodbridge | #155 | B | C | — | B | B− |
Mason Neck has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Mason Neck, Lorton and Woodbridge report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mason Neck with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $818,000, 98% 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.
