Fairfax County, VA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.83, -77.27.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 98th pct · 55th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 96th pct · 5th of 133 Virginia counties · median $309,231
- 81st pct · 5th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $562,284
- 31st pct · 2,109th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 14th pct · 114th of 133 Virginia counties · median +2.8%
- 40th pct · 14th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median +1.6%
- 94th pct · 78th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 4th of 71 Virginia counties · median $1,806
- 85th pct · 4th of 22 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $2,255
- 98th pct · 43rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
- 95th pct · 2nd of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 38,075
- 99th pct · 19th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 98th pct · 3rd of 133 Virginia counties · median $1,048
- 90th pct · 3rd of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $1,341
- 78th pct · 649th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 56th pct · 58th of 133 Virginia counties · median 5.4
- 22nd pct · 18th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 7.1
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $756,212 (Sep 2026), +1.2% over one year, +16.9% over five
- 98th pct · 55th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 96th pct · 5th of 133 Virginia counties · median $309,231
- 81st pct · 5th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $562,284
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fairfax County, VA | $756,212 · +1.2% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $2,507/mo (Sep 2026), +1.1% over one year; price-to-rent 25.1
- 94th pct · 78th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 4th of 71 Virginia counties · median $1,806
- 85th pct · 4th of 22 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $2,255
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fairfax County, VA | $2,507/mo · +1.1% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $4,189 a month on $756,212 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $10,621 a month: 39.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $756,212 × 80% = $604,970, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $4,189/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $2,451 × 52 / 12 = $10,621) = 39% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $756,212 / ($2,451 × 52) = 5.9
- price-to-rent = $756,212 / ($2,507 × 12) = 25.1
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
622,779 jobs at 39,023 employers (2026 Q1); -1.9% jobs and +3.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 98th pct · 43rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
- 95th pct · 2nd of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 38,075
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fairfax County, VA | 622,779 jobs · $2,451/wk · -1.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional and technical services | 147,963 | $3,367 | 3.44 | -5.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 76,902 | $1,520 | 0.82 | +2.5% |
| Retail trade | 47,971 | $993 | 0.79 | -1.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 42,505 | $704 | 0.76 | -3.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 40,179 | $1,385 | 1.14 | -11.8% |
| Information | 26,481 | $4,253 | 2.31 | +21.1% |
| Construction | 26,461 | $2,287 | 0.81 | +0.9% |
| Management of companies | 25,766 | $6,673 | 2.47 | +8.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 24,697 | $4,951 | 0.97 | -4.0% |
| Other services | 18,804 | $1,488 | 1.01 | +0.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 11,506 | $3,183 | 0.48 | -6.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 11,191 | $1,412 | 0.43 | +0.8% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$116.7 bn in deposits at 237 offices of 38 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,430, highly concentrated. $45.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (contracts $39.3 bn, direct payments $5.7 bn), $73,106 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Capital One, National Association | $53.1 bn · 45.5% share · 12 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $14.5 bn · 12.5% share · 35 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $12.4 bn · 10.6% share · 29 offices | |
| Fairfax, VA | $45.5 bn FY2026 · $73,106/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $5.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One, National Association | $53,084,947,000 | 45.5% | 12 |
| Truist Bank | $14,546,745,000 | 12.5% | 35 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $12,365,662,000 | 10.6% | 29 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $8,153,490,000 | 7.0% | 23 |
| United Bank | $4,613,415,000 | 4.0% | 16 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $3,209,079,000 | 2.7% | 1 |
| Atlantic Union Bank | $2,483,485,000 | 2.1% | 8 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $2,178,043,000 | 1.9% | 19 |
| Chain Bridge Bank, National Association | $2,006,523,000 | 1.7% | 1 |
| Citibank, National Association | $1,737,000,000 | 1.5% | 6 |
Deposit concentration is 2,430 across 37 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 37 banks with deposits in the county = 45.5² + 12.5² + 10.6² + … (34 more) = 2,430
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Department of Defense | $14,795,281,148 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $4,880,530,024 |
| Social Security Administration | $4,649,472,066 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $3,822,186,216 |
| General Services Administration | $3,530,959,062 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $3,409,838,360 |
| Department of Justice | $2,517,500,751 |
| Department of State | $1,466,411,321 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,070,143,547 |
| Department of Commerce | $804,207,708 |
| Department of Education | $788,938,471 |
| Department of the Interior | $746,302,660 |
That is $73,106 per covered job, against 622,779 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $45.5 bn / 622,779 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $73,106
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Fairfax County, VA: 19 findings, 3 at a watch level and 16 noted
watchFairfax County, VA's price-to-rent ratio of 25.1 ranks 88th of 1,358 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: priceToRent percentile = 93.58879882092852 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchFairfax County, VA's covered employment is -1.9% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -1.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchFairfax County, VA's price-to-rent ratio is 25.1, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: priceToRent = 25.13342848498148 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteFairfax County, VA's average weekly wage was 3.5% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +3.5 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteFairfax County, VA's covered employment was 1.9% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -1.9 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.