Moving to
Merrifield.

All Merrifield data Compare Merrifield

20,698people live here $136,373median household income▲ 69% above US $2,368median rent per month▲ 68% above US $660,800median home value▲ 99% above US

Merrifield is an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, VA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Merrifield

Merrifield is an unincorporated community in Virginia with county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, a highly educated workforce, and a population that has grown fast since 2020. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Merrifield deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, and cold winters.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce
Fast-growing population
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Above-average commute times
Cold winters

How Merrifield compares

Median household income

Merrifield$136,373

Virginia avg$93,170

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Merrifield$2,368

Virginia avg$1,579

US$1,413

Median home value

Merrifield$660,800

Virginia avg$383,700

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Merrifield

Based on Merrifield's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$4,736

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $94,720 a year
40% of Merrifield renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$132,160

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $66,080
Homes cost 4.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 68% above US

$2,368/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $2,368 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $660,800. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $660,800 · 40% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.2% county unemployment

Unemployment in Fairfax County is 3.2%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Fairfax County (county-wide)

Safety

110 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Merrifield doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Fairfax County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1438/100k · Policed by Fairfax County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

28 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 28.1 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 5 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% take public transit; 35% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

45%

Work from home

35%

Public transit

7.9%

Carpool

7.3%

Walk

3.6%

Other

1.9%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 112% above US

76% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.

Schools

2 public schools inside the boundary

There are 2 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 12:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (5 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Merrifield's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($2,368/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), remote workers (35% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

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