Census-designated place · Fairfax County, Virginia

Difficult Run, Virginia

Difficult Run is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. It has 9,938 residents. Difficult Run, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 99 out of 100 (very high), ranking #178 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #41 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on food insecurity (low), lack of reliable transportation (low) and frequent mental distress (low). It ranks worst on public libraries (low), drought exposure (high) and job growth (low).

99Very high

Quality-of-life score: #178 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #41 of 375 in VA
Population: 9,938 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 1,186.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 5122472

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety88#1,887/15,637
Economy100#31/15,631
Housing43#8,537/14,977
Health100#14/15,609
Healthcare95#799/15,650
Environment72#4,257/15,453
Education99#211/15,649
Infrastructure98#241/15,650
Community96#687/15,651
Leisure & amenities60#6,183/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Difficult Run, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Fairfax County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Food insecurity · low4.7%
100/100Virginia 13.5%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · low3.4%
100/100Virginia 7.7%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · low11.6%
100/100Virginia 18.6%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Injury deaths · low37 /100k
100/100Virginia 78 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFairfax County value
Median household income · high$250,001
100/100Virginia $92,116United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Life expectancy · high85.0 yrs
100/100Virginia 77.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFairfax County value

Weaknesses

Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
5/100Virginia 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesFairfax County value
Drought exposure · high80%
11/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAFairfax County value
Job growth · low-1.9%
14/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFairfax County value
Mammography screening · low40.0%
19/100Virginia 47.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFairfax County value
Average commute time · high30.1 min
22/100Virginia 27.3 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Home price to income ratio · high4.4×
27/100Virginia 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
10,480 (2016-2020) → 9,938 (2020-2024)
−5.2%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
80.6% (2016-2020) → 85.5% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.9% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.6× (2016-2020) → 4.4× (2020-2024)
+22%4 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
53.8% (2016-2020) → 57.4% (2020-2024)
+3.6 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Public transit commutersWorsening
6.4% (2016-2020) → 2.8% (2020-2024)
−3.5 pts4 yearsCensus table B08301US 4.6% → 3.2%
Average commute timeImproving
33.6 min (2016-2020) → 30.1 min (2020-2024)
−10%4 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

There is not enough history to compare Difficult Run, Virginia over five years.

Cities and towns like Difficult Run, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Difficult Run, Virginia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Difficult Run, Virginia five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

9,938 residents (±828)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39†
20–29†
10–19
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

9,938 residents (±828)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

White69%6,882
Black1.0%†99
Hispanic or Latino5.1%†509

Education

6,710 residents (±458)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma0.6%†37
High school or GED3.6%†239
Some college7.9%†533

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

3,139 households (±203)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k1.9%†61
$25k–50k1.5%†48
$50k–75k2.8%†89
$75k–100k3.1%†96
$100k–150k6.4%†202
$150k–200k13%†396
$200k or more72%2,247

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

3,139 households (±203)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

Own98%3,066
Rent2.3%†73

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

73 households (±51)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,5000.0%0
$1,500–2,000

Home values

3,066 homes (±198)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k0.9%†28
$150k–250k0.0%0
$250k–400k0.0%0

Age of homes

3,356 homes (±212)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later3.6%†120
2000–20098.5%†285
1980–199942%1,422

Size of homes

3,356 homes (±212)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms1.3%†45
3 bedrooms

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

4,815 workers (±438)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone53%2,566
Carpool4.5%†219
Public transit2.8%†137
Walk0.5%†26
Bike0.0%0
Work from home37%1,793
Other1.5%†74

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

3,022 workers (±419)

Difficult Run, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min14%†432
15–29 min44%1,321
30–44 min22%664

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Fairfax County, the county holding most of Difficult Run's residents.

Fairfax County has 31,931 employer establishments, 279 for every 10,000 residents (1.12× the US rate of 248; 1.16× Virginia's), with 696,002 paid employees at an average annual pay of $100,312. The Census Bureau also counts 130,037 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 31,931; 130,037 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 279; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 696,002
Average annual pay: $100,312; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Fairfax County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Computer systems design and related services	3,683	32.2	7.44×More than typical	117,517	$121,878	3,011
Ambulatory health care services	3,051	26.7	1.28×More than typical	38,495	$75,312	6,211
Restaurants and other eating places	2,207	19.3	1.05×About typical	38,288	$27,027	674
Management, scientific and technical consulting	2,016	17.6	2.63×More than typical	46,554	$118,434	9,057
Lessors of real estate	1,696	14.8	1.20×About typical	9,931	$88,564	11,883
Specialty trade contractors	1,404	12.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	16,724	$81,199	6,665
Limited-service restaurants	1,026	9	1.12×About typical	16,219	$23,525	211
Construction of buildings	990	8.7	1.15×About typical	10,638	$109,712	3,635
Offices of physicians	926	8.1	1.25×More than typical	10,959	$106,612	1,087
Full-service restaurants	908	7.9	1.03×About typical	18,718	$30,849	337
Offices of dentists	812	7.1	1.76×More than typical	5,693	$67,036	472
Personal care services	761	6.7	1.39×More than typical	3,840	$36,818	4,655

Rank places for an industry Open Fairfax County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 1,143,456 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $574.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Difficult Run, Virginia: $57,809 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $574.5M; −23% vs FY2025
Per resident: $57,809; US $1,994
Sole-source: 15%; US 30%
Single offer: 13%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

IRON BOW TECHNOLOGIES, LLC$42.7M7.4%
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC$34.9M6.1%
DLT SOLUTIONS, LLC$32.9M5.7%
CGI FEDERAL INC.$32.4M5.6%
MANTECH ADVANCED SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, INC.$28.6M5.0%

Spending by fiscal year

591.8MFY2017
582MFY2018
599.2MFY2019
632.3MFY2020
701.6MFY2021
857.7MFY2022
799.9MFY2023
830.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$336.4M59%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$44.2M7.7%
Legal services · 5411$25.6M4.5%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$21.2M3.7%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$21M3.6%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Difficult Run, Virginia

PROCUREMENT AND INSTALLATION NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEMS, WI-FI, CABLING, ETC. HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, SUPPORT AND OTHER ASSOCIATED SERVICES AT EXISTING FOREIGN POSTS AND NEW POSTS.$249.9M
AT&T TECHNICAL SERVICES COMPANY, INC· Fairfax County, VA· IT & telecom· Jan 15, 2021 – Sep 25, 2026· 19AQMM21F0420
THE PURPOSE OF THIS ABILITY-ONE CONTRACT IS TO PROVIDE ALL PERSONNEL, LABOR AND SUPERVISION, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES TO 59 OFF-SITE MAIL PROCESSING FACILITIES AND 8 HEADQUARTER OFFICES NATION-WIDE.$74.3M
SERVICESOURCE INC· Fairfax County, VA· Professional services· Mar 27, 2020 – Aug 26, 2026· 2032H820C00013
THE SUSTAINMENT OF INDEPENDENCE RISK ASSESSMENT CAPABILITIES, INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY (ISS) ASSURANCE AND THE PERFORMANCE OF PENETRATION TESTING$57.9M
SYSNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.· Fairfax County, VA

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Difficult Run, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Difficult Run, Virginia's figures are part of those of Fairfax County, VA ($35.1B in FY2026), never added to them: 1.6% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Difficult Run is mostly in Fairfax County.

See federal money in Fairfax County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Difficult Run, Virginia is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Tim Kaine

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Fairfax County96100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV86

Other cities and towns in Fairfax County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5122472

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Cities and towns like Difficult Run, Virginia five years ago that improved