Moving to McLean
Fairfax County loses about 9.1 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.
Where people come from and where they go, top counties
Within Virginia, other states or abroad
Income per tax return
People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Fairfax County; flows under 20 returns are not published.
- Who moves here
- 7.0% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 2.9% from another state.
- Who arrives and who leaves
- Households moving into Fairfax County report $105,700 a year in income on average; those leaving, $112,600, so leavers earn more than newcomers.
- Income you would need
- $136,900 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
- Rent or buy
- Median rent is $3,422 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $4,001 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $1,412,700.
- Getting to work
- 28 minutes each way on average; 38.3% work from home; 3.4% take transit.
- If it is close but not quite
- Hinsdale, IL matches it on character for less of your income. Compare the two
All 5 moving measures
| Measure | McLean | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved here in the past year1 | 7.0% | 23% above | |
| Moved from another state1 | 2.9% | 46% above | |
| Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure | -9.1 | below (median -0.6) | |
| Income of households moving in6County figure | $105,657 | 50% above | |
| Income of households moving out6County figure | $112,552 | 60% above |
What it costs to live here
Rent is light relative to pay, but the county has a FEMA natural hazard risk score of 95 out of 100. Budget for insurance before counting the savings.
Could you afford it?
Uses the median rent in McLean, $3,422 a month, and local prices for everything else (100.2 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Like McLean, but easier on the budget
Places that match McLean on character (size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, remote work and climate) but where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income. Cost was left out of the match on purpose.
Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in McLean.
All 14 cost and housing measures
| Measure | McLean | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent1 | $3,422 | 151% above | |
| Rent to income1 | 16.4% | 20% below | |
| Home price to income1 | 5.7x | 49% above | |
| Prices vs US average2Metro figure | 108.9 | 8% above | |
| Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure | $2,438 | 51% above | |
| Property tax paid (median)1 | $10,001 | 206% above | |
| Median home value1 | $1,412,700 | 342% above | |
| Home prices, 1-year change4County figure | 2.1% | 34% below | |
| Home prices, 5-year change4County figure | 35.3% | 32% below | |
| Homeownership1 | 86.1% | 30% above | |
| Renters paying 30%+1 | 48.7% | 4% below | |
| Owner costs with a mortgage1 | $4,001 | 114% above | |
| Vacant homes1 | 3.9% | 45% below | |
| Median year built1 | 1977 | 0% below |
Work and pay
38% of workers mostly work from home, more than in 98% of the 987 places of 25,000 to 50,000 people we track.
More on work and pay, against the typical place
All 10 work and pay measures
| Measure | McLean | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income1 | $250,001 | 211% above | |
| Income per person1 | $131,068 | 227% above | |
| Unemployment1 | 2.3% | 54% below | |
| Average annual pay5County figure | $115,004 | 74% above | |
| Pay growth, 1 year5County figure | 0.8% | 78% below | |
| Jobs5County figure | 634,638 | 321% above | |
| Poverty rate1 | 2.9% | 73% below | |
| Mean commute1 | 28 min | 13% above | |
| Works from home1 | 38.3% | 207% above | |
| Commutes by transit1 | 3.4% | 295% above |
Who lives here
Bachelor's or higher is 84.3%, 163% above the median place.
More about who lives here, against the typical place
All 8 people measures
Life in McLean
About 83 km of named paths and bike trails are mapped in and around the city, more than in 98% of the 987 places of 25,000 to 50,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-highest of 195 Virginia places we track.
Founded or incorporated in 1910. 4 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks. Its history on Wikipedia
- Salona listed 1973
- Spring Hill Farm listed 2002
- Bois Doré listed 2020
- Drover’s Rest listed 2023
Out the door, against the typical place
Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
National Park Service sites nearby
- Clara Barton National Historic Site 3 miles
- Glen Echo Park 3 miles
- Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts 4 miles
Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)
Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.
All 18 schools and local life measures
| Measure | McLean | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public schools11 | 8 | 11% below | |
| Public school students11 | 8,986 | 84% above | |
| Students per teacher11 | 15.1 | 2% below | |
| Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure | 21.4 | 3% above | |
| Shops per 10k7County figure | 21.4 | 29% below | |
| Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure | 4.1 | 0% above | |
| Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure | 26.6 | 32% above | |
| Child care centers per 10k7County figure | 3.2 | 39% above | |
| Parks per 10k8 | 17.5 | 72% above | |
| Playgrounds per 10k8 | 10.9 | 16% above | |
| Grocery stores per 10k8 | 1.2 | 43% below | |
| Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k8 | 10.5 | 6% below | |
| Libraries per 10k8 | 0.4 | 54% below | |
| Named paths and bike trails8 | 82.7 | above (median 2.0) | |
| Transit stops per sq mi8 | 3.6 | above (median 0.2) | |
| Nearest National Park Service site9 | 3.4 | 89% below | |
| National Park Service sites within 60 miles9 | 40 | above (median 2) | |
| National Register listings10 | 4 | 69% below |
Safety, weather and risk
Wildfire risk is 34.0, 45% below the median place.
No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached McLean. Larger places are fetched first.
All 11 weather and risk measures
| Measure | McLean | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| July average high12County figure | 88°F | 1% above | |
| January average low12County figure | 26°F | 4% above | |
| Average temperature12County figure | 56°F | 3% above | |
| Annual precipitation12County figure | 43.2 in | 1% below | |
| Natural hazard risk13County figure | 94.7 | 2% above | |
| Hurricane risk13County figure | 93.0 | 32% above | |
| Tornado risk13County figure | 54.5 | 33% below | |
| Wildfire risk13County figure | 34.0 | 45% below | |
| Heat wave risk13County figure | 97.1 | 8% above | |
| Median air quality index14County figure | 42 | 2% below | |
| Good air days14County figure | 77.8% | 14% above |
How it is changing
Five-year survey estimates, one point per release. Between the 2019 and 2024 releases, which share no survey years, the median rent went from 17.8% to 16.4% of the median income.
Median gross rent
Median household income
Median home value
Citytistics measures
Measures only Citytistics publishes, built from the figures on this page. Scores of 100 beat every place we track. Formulas
McLean in 2030: where the trends point
If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 16% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 16% now.
Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases. On projected 2030 affordability, McLean does better than 50% of places. Its projected home value growth beats 23%.
| Measure | Latest | 2030 projection | Likely range | Avg. per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,422/mo (2024) | $4,320/mo | $3,550 to $5,270/mo | +4.0% |
| Median household income | $250,001 (2024) | $315,000 | $266,000 to $372,500 | +3.9% |
| Median home value | $1,412,700 (2024) | $1,989,000 | $1,444,000 to $2,741,000 | +5.9% |
The median home would be worth 6.3 years of the median income in 2030, against 5.7 now.
A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.
Places like McLean
The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.
| Place | Rent | Income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Falls, VA | $3,501 | $250,001 | Compare |
| Kensington, CA | $3,501 | $237,130 | Compare |
| Travilah, MD | $3,501 | $250,001 | Compare |
| Wolf Trap, VA | $3,501 | $250,001 | Compare |
Nearby
- Pimmit Hills, VA2 mi
- Tysons, VA2 mi
- Idylwood, VA4 mi
- Dunn Loring, VA4 mi
- Falls Church, VA4 mi
- Vienna, VA5 mi
Compare McLean with
Places built like McLean
Its statistical peers: the closest matches on size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, origin and remote work, in the same part of the country. Cost and outcomes are left out of the match, so the table shows how McLean performs against places like it.
Common questions
Is McLean a good place to live?
It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Its Citytistics Index is 93 out of 100, better than 93% of the places we rate and 8th of 190 in Virginia. The median household earns $250,001 a year, more than in 99% of the 987 places of 25,000 to 50,000 people we track. It is the highest of 195 Virginia places we track. On cost, space and class size it scores 87 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.
Is McLean expensive to live in?
The median rent takes 16.4% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $1,412,700.
What salary do you need to live in McLean?
To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $136,880 a year. Work it out from your current city.
What places are similar to McLean?
On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Great Falls, VA, Kensington, CA, Travilah, MD and Wolf Trap, VA.
Sources and methods
The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
- Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
- House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
- SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
- County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
- OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
- National Park Service sites · Wikidata (CC0), units operated by the National Park Service · Retrieved 2026-11
- National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
- Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
- 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
- National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
- Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files
Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); home price to income (B25077, B19013).
What stands out compares McLean with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for McLean itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/mclean-virginia
Citytistics. “McLean, Virginia.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/mclean-virginia/
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.