Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
West Falls Church’s best grade is for walkability: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall, West Falls Church earns an A−: better than 84% of U.S. towns, and 84th of 249 in Virginia. Add incomes to its strengths (A−): the median household earns $135K. The catch is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $707K, 5.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. The town’s density of trails is 1.5 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in Virginia’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Holmes Run Stream Valley Park, at 56 acres. Its rent at the middle of the market is $2,066 a month, above both Virginia’s towns ($1,760 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · OpenStreetMap.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far West Falls Church is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 15%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where West Falls Church beats most towns.
Census counts: 25,432 in 1970, 30,243 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 7 maps from 1900 on.
Where West Falls Church’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2024
Ordered by what stands out in West Falls Church.
West Falls Church owes part of its health edge to its incomes, but it has property taxes about twice the Virginia norm.
Trails total 7.7 miles in 16 parks and preserves. Walkers in West Falls Church have 185 acres of parks and preserves.
| West Falls Church | Typical Virginia town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Round Tree Park | 2.1 mi | 47 |
| 2. John C & Margaret K White Garden Park | 0.9 mi | 13 |
| 3. Holmes Run Stream Valley Park | 0.3 mi | 56 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Fairfax County Public Schools. Of its 13 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The 4 public schools in West Falls Church teach 2,200 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westlawn ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 789 | D |
| Falls Church HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,170 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Against the 4,039 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Falls Church’s, it is less healthy than 56%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Nearly a fifth of adults have been diagnosed with depression in West Falls Church. Of 32 CDC measures, West Falls Church beats the Virginia average on 9 and trails it on 4. Two figures for adults locally: 14% report frequent mental distress, 28% have high blood pressure.
| West Falls Church | Typical Virginia town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | West Falls Church | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.6% | 6.2% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.8% | 7.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.6% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Flood insurance has paid out on 76 claims in West Falls Church since 1978. Compared with 83% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. FEMA puts nearly two thirds of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 8% to hurricanes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among workers in West Falls Church, 23% work remotely from home. Just 3% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Between 2014 and 2024, jobs locally rose by 1,606, to 8,493. The top destinations are Washington (15%), Arlington (11%) and Tysons (8%).
| West Falls Church | Typical Virginia town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $135,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 23% | 17% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 5% | 7.9% |
Census LEHD 2024 · ACS
The range runs from 26° on a January night to 87° on a July afternoon, with about 6 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median property tax bill is $7,537, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A home in West Falls Church typically sold within 48 days of listing. Sellers in West Falls Church got 100% of the asking price, typically. In West Falls Church, two thirds of households live in a home they own.
| West Falls Church | Typical Virginia town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,066 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 68% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Falls Church. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw8 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw7 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw7 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw9 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw8 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
West Falls Church 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.
34 within 15 miles of the center of West Falls Church
About 7 of every 100 West Falls Church residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
West Falls Church is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, West Falls Church had a population of 30,243. Before 2010, West Falls Church was officially named Jefferson (from Thomas Jefferson). Outside of the Jefferson Village neighborhood, "Jefferson" generally is not used locally to refer to the area bounding Falls Church city to the south and southwest that comprises the CDP. Likewise, "West Falls Church" is rarely used to describe the area but is usually applied to areas west of Falls Church city or near West Falls Church metro station. The bulk of it is made of subdivisions built in the 1940s and early 1950s, including Jefferso…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with West Falls Church.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Falls Church | #84 | A− | D | — | B+ | A− |
| Annandale | #120 | B+ | D | — | B+ | B+ |
| Falls Church | #48 | A | D | B− | A+ | A+ |
| Lake Barcroft | #81 | A | D | — | B+ | A |
| Idylwood | #41 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Seven Corners | #89 | A− | B | — | B+ | C+ |
| Merrifield | #36 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
West Falls Church, Annandale, Lake Barcroft, Idylwood, Seven Corners and Merrifield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare West Falls Church with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Falls Church grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #84 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A− for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $707,000, 71% 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.
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