Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 36,528, settled in 1883.
Yes, by almost any measure. Oakton earns an A+, 18th of 249 graded towns in Virginia. The median household earns $161K, it is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.1 million, 8.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. 75% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Oakton, against 44% in Virginia’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 37 of Virginia’s 372 towns score higher on the outdoors. Oakton Trolley Station is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Oakton beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Oakton | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.3% | 11.1% |
Where Oakton’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 Oakton is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 15%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 24,610 in 1990, 36,732 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1911 and 7 maps from 1915 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oakton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw14 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw13 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw13 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw15 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw13 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
Oakton 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 Oakton.
Oakton has less tooth loss than most of Virginia and has household incomes well above the Virginia norm, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Virginia.
At 8.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $1.09M) costs more against local pay than in 98% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $8,123, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Oakton’s median rent is $2,276 a month. The typical Oakton home is worth about $1,090,000, up 3% in a year, more than twice the Virginia typical home. 36% of Oakton renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Oakton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,276 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 36% | 47% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Fairfax County Public Schools. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mosaic ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 927 | A+ |
| Oakton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,621 | A |
| Flint Hill ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 614 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
18 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. The trail density in Oakton is 1.9 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Difficult Run Stream Valley Park, 210 acres with 4.8 miles of trail.
| Oakton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.9 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.7% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Difficult Run Stream Valley Park | 4.8 mi | 210 |
| 2. Oakmont Park | 1.4 mi | 136 |
| 3. Nottoway Park | 1.2 mi | 90 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 4.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide.
Oakton beats the Virginia average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 12% of adults report frequent mental distress in Oakton.
| Oakton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.9% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oakton | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.3% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.4% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oakton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
34.1% of workers work from home, against 18.3% across Virginia.
Most working residents leave Oakton for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Oakton has added 1,361 jobs, to 9,966 in 2023. The top destinations are Washington (15%), Tysons (10%) and Arlington (8%).
| Oakton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 34% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $161,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Oakton has chilly winters and warm summers. 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
26 within 15 miles of the center of Oakton
About 8 of every 100 Oakton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
4 notable people were born in Oakton.
Census-designated place in Virginia
Oakton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 36,732 at the 2020 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is 16 miles (26 km) west of Washington, D.C.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Oakton.
At #18 in VA, it grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; Merrifield (A) comes closest.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakton | #18 | A+ | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Difficult Run | #46 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Fair Oaks | #60 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Vienna | #45 | A | D | B+ | B+ | A+ |
| Fairfax | #164 | B | D | C− | — | A |
| Wolf Trap | #52 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Merrifield | #36 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
Oakton, Difficult Run, Fair Oaks, Wolf Trap and Merrifield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oakton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Oakton grades A+ overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns and #18 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
4 notable people were born here, including Jacob Frey and Theodore Ku-DiPietro.
