Fairfax County, Virginia: commercial real estate data.

Fairfax County

How many people live in Fairfax County

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-20241,147,837
• Households414,101
• Average household size2.77
• Median household income$153,637
• Median age39.1
• Median gross rent$2,276 per month
• Median owner-occupied home value$732,800
• Home value to household income4.8 times
• Annual rent as a share of median income17.8 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher65.0 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree33.0 percent
• Adults 25 and over790,570
• Population under 18262,310
• Share under 1822.9 percent
• Population 65 and over171,935
• Share 65 and over15.0 percent
• Working age population, 18 to 64713,592
• Civilian labor force637,207
• Unemployment rate4.2 percent
• Labor force participation, adults 18 and over72.0 percent
• Rank by population among Virginia counties1st of 133
• Rank by population among US county-equivalents, Puerto Rico included42nd of 3,222

Fairfax County is the 1st largest of 133 Virginia counties by population. A median home costs 4.8 times median household income, which is seriously unaffordable by national standards. Residents under 18 outnumber those 65 and over, at 22.9 percent against 15.0 percent, a household formation profile rather than a retirement one.

US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.

Fairfax County

Where are people moving to Fairfax County from?

• Tax returns filed by households arriving39,010
• People arriving, from those returns67,685
• Tax returns filed by households leaving45,365
• Net household movement-6,355
• Adjusted gross income arriving$4.61 bn
• Net adjusted gross income movement$-1.07 bn
• Average income of an arriving household$118,128
• Average income of a leaving household$125,260
• Largest single originArlington County (3,960 households)
• Largest single destinationLoudoun County (4,739 households)

Households arriving report $7,132 less average income than households leaving, which drains spending power even where headcount holds up. The largest single source of arrivals is Arlington County, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.

US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.

Fairfax County

How many businesses are in Fairfax County?

• Establishments, all industries31,931
• Employment at those establishments696,002
• Annual payroll$69.82 bn
• Establishments per 1,000 residents27.8

These are counts of establishments physically operating in the county, not listings, so they are the supply side a feasibility study measures demand against. County Business Patterns counts private establishments with paid employees in March 2023, while the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages above counts every unemployment-insured employer, public ones included, as a 2024 annual average, so the two establishment and employment counts differ.

US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.

Fairfax County

SBA loans in Fairfax County (7(a) and 504)

• 7(a) approvals recorded1,230
• 7(a) gross approval dollars$551.1 m
• Average 7(a) approval$448,070
• Median 7(a) approval$200,000
• 10th percentile approval$25,900
• 90th percentile approval$1,051,000
• Largest single approval$5,000,000
• Jobs reported supported, 7(a)15,282
• Jobs per approval12.4
• Distinct 7(a) lenders active121
• Distinct industries receiving approvals252
• Median 7(a) term120 months
• Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer5.7 percent
• Loans on real estate terms70
• Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter1,078
• Franchise loans210
• Franchise share of approvals17.1 percent
• Leading industry by approval countFull-Service Restaurants (74)
• Most active lenderManufacturers and Traders Trust Company (203)
• 504 approvals recorded189
• 504 gross approval dollars$156.4 m
• Average 504 approval$827,556
• Median 504 approval$519,000
• Distinct CDCs active4
• 504 jobs per approval13.1
• 504 jobs per million dollars approved15.8
• Most active CDCBusiness Finance Group, Inc. (167)
• Combined SBA approval dollars, 7(a) FY2020 to FY2026 and 504 FY2010 to FY2026$707.5 m

The average approval of $448,070 sits well above the median of $200,000, pulled up by a few larger deals, so the median is the better guide to what a typical borrower here gets. Only 5.7 percent of approvals run on real estate terms, so SBA credit here is mostly working capital and equipment rather than property acquisition.

US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30. US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.

Fairfax County

SBA lending by place in Fairfax County

• Borrower cities with recorded lending35
• Fairfax, approvals146
• Alexandria, approvals144
• Reston, approvals100
• McLean, approvals99
• Vienna, approvals99
• Springfield, approvals97

Fairfax accounts for 146 approvals against 144 in Alexandria. County level figures average over that gap, which is why a site decision is made at the submarket rather than the county.

US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.

Fairfax County

Flood risk in Fairfax County

• Participation of the county's own NFIP community Fairfax County, unincorporated areasParticipating, community 515525
• Community Rating System class of the county's own communityClass 5
• Communities in the county in the NFIP Community Status Book4
• Of those, participating in the NFIP4
• NFIP participation rate100.0 percent
• Best Community Rating System class in the county A lower CRS class is a larger flood insurance premium discount.Class 5
• Communities carrying a CRS class2
• Radon levels in Fairfax County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/LZone 1

The county's own community in the status book, unincorporated Fairfax County (community 515525), participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and carries Community Rating System class 5, a flood insurance premium discount for policies written there. The EPA places Fairfax County in radon zone 1, a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. The best Community Rating System class among the county's communities is 5, which carries a flood insurance premium discount for policies written in that community. 100.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.

Feasibility studies

When a Fairfax County site needs a document a lender will accept.

The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a Fairfax County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-20241,147,837
• Households414,101
• Average household size2.77
• Median household income$153,637
• Median age39.1

How a feasibility study works →

Fairfax County

Cities and places in Fairfax.

69 Census places lie wholly or partly in Fairfax County. All 69 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked.

A further 388 of the county's 1,230 SBA 7(a) approvals are to borrowers in cities that match no Census place in Fairfax County, the largest being Fairfax (146), Alexandria (144), Falls Church (82). Those are postal cities, unincorporated areas and cities outside the county, so no place row claims them; they are counted in the county total above.