Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, settled in 1861, counts 13,122 residents.
Mount Vernon grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 64th of 249 in Virginia. On health it is strong — CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country. The catch is cost of living (C−): the typical home is worth about $580K, 4.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. This Virginia town has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mount Vernon and Woodlawn Plantation. The town’s middle household income is $164,000, against $101,000 in Virginia’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Grist Mill Park, at 76 acres.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where Mount Vernon beats most towns.
Where Mount Vernon’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 Mount Vernon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Mount Vernon is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 24,058 in 1980, a peak of 28,582 in 2000, 12,914 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1800 and 5 maps from 1913 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Vernon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw12 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw12 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw12 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw13 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
Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon has less tooth loss than most of Virginia and has household incomes well above the Virginia norm, but it has many renters stretched by housing costs.
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 7.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide. Against the 1,950 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mount Vernon’s, it is less healthy than 58%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
For adults in Mount Vernon, the share who feel lonely is 31%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Mount Vernon is ahead of Virginia on 15 and behind on 1. Two figures for adults locally: 27% have obesity, 8.6% smoke cigarettes.
| Mount Vernon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 12% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Mount Vernon | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.2% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 13.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Two of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mount Vernon High, with 1,858 students. Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 741 | C− |
| Mount Vernon HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,858 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
61.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.5% across Virginia. The median property tax bill is $8,292, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
On the market in Mount Vernon: a median 26 days to sell. The typical home value in the town is about $580,000, up 0.9% in a year, 41% above the Virginia typical home. The median rent locally is $1,620 a month.
| Mount Vernon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,620 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4.7 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. Mount Vernon’s concentration of trails stands at 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Mount Vernon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.8% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Vernon Manor Park | 0.5 mi | 14 |
| 2. Washington Mill Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
| 3. Grist Mill Park | 0.1 mi | 76 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
29.4% of workers work from home, against 18.3% across Virginia.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 13 miles. Among workers in Mount Vernon, 29% work from home. Just 4% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Also worth knowing: in Mount Vernon, the average commute is 31 minutes.
| Mount Vernon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $164,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 29% | 17% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mount Vernon’s natural-hazard score from FEMA comes in at 32 of 100. 26 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1996. 76% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 6%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 89°; in January, nights fall to 27°, and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
24 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Vernon
About 3 of every 100 Mount Vernon residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
4 places in Mount Vernon on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Mount Vernon is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 12,914 at the 2020 census. Primarily due to its historical significance and natural recreation and beauty, the Mount Vernon area receives over one million tourists each year. While the name "Mount Vernon"—drawn from the Mount Vernon estate, the home of George Washington located south of Alexandria—is often used locally to refer to the entire unincorporated area between Old Town Alexandria and Fort Belvoir, Mount Vernon as defined by the Census Bureau encompasses only the portion bounded by the Potomac River to the south, Fort Belvoir to the west, U.S. R…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Mount Vernon.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Fort Hunt (A) comes closest.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon | #64 | A | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Hybla Valley | #163 | B | C | — | B+ | C+ |
| Fort Belvoir | #86 | A− | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Fort Hunt | #80 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Woodlawn | #114 | B+ | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
Mount Vernon, Hybla Valley, Fort Belvoir, Fort Hunt and Woodlawn report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mount Vernon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mount Vernon grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #64 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
