Fairfax County, Virginia property tax
The median homeowner in Fairfax County, Virginia pays $7,072 a year in property tax on a home worth $699,700, an effective rate of 1.01%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
Fairfax County taxes property at 1.01%, within a rounding error of the national 0.98%. With the rate close to typical, the $7,072 bill is driven by what housing is worth here rather than by how hard it is taxed.
It ranks #5 of 129 Virginia counties by effective rate, against a statewide 0.74%, and #1,030 nationally. The state runs from 1.14% in Manassas Park city down to 0.40% in Prince Edward County.
The median home costs 4.66 times the median household income of $150,113, against 3.86 nationally, so housing absorbs an unusually large share of what people here earn. Renters pay 17.83% of median income in gross rent. With 1,144,474 residents this is one of the larger counties in the country, so the medians here average across a genuinely varied housing market and hide a lot of local range.
The rate is derived rather than quoted. How and why.
What that costs at different home values
Arithmetic at the county effective rate, before any exemption or assessment cap.
Housing and income
| Fairfax County | Virginia | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 1.01% | 0.74% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $7,072 | $2,686 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $699,700 | $360,700 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $2,230 | $1,514 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $150,113 | $90,974 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 4.66× | 3.96× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 17.83% | 19.97% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 68.35% | 67.18% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 1,144,474.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince William County | 0.98% | $4,910 | $500,600 |
| Virginia Beach city | 0.80% | $2,929 | $366,300 |
| Loudoun County | 0.88% | $6,186 | $701,000 |
| Chesterfield County | 0.78% | $2,636 | $336,700 |
| Henrico County | 0.72% | $2,416 | $333,600 |
Fairfax County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Fairfax County, Virginia?
The effective rate is 1.01% of home value, from a median tax bill of $7,072 against a median home value of $699,700. That is 0.03 points above the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Fairfax County?
Roughly $4,040 a year at the county effective rate of 1.01%.
Is Fairfax County expensive compared with the rest of Virginia?
It ranks #5 of 129 Virginia counties by effective property tax rate, and #1030 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.27 points above the Virginia average of 0.74%.
What does housing cost in Fairfax County?
The median home is worth $699,700 and median gross rent is $2,230 a month. Median household income is $150,113, which puts the home at 4.66 times annual income and rent at 17.83% of it.