Scores by category

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

Safety88#1,887/15,637
Economy98#305/15,631
Housing42#8,656/14,977
Health100#19/15,609
Healthcare94#947/15,650
Environment72#4,257/15,453
Education99#145/15,649
Infrastructure97#443/15,650
Community95#769/15,651
Leisure & amenities60#6,183/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where McLean, 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

Child poverty rate · low1.4%
100/100Virginia 11.8%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Bachelor's degree or higher · high84.3%
100/100Virginia 42.2%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
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
Food insecurity · low5.5%
100/100Virginia 13.5%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

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
Home price to income ratio · high5.7×
13/100Virginia 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.477
14/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
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

Trends

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

Median household incomeImproving
$207,184 (2015-2019) → $250,001 (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.6% (2015-2019) → 48.7% (2020-2024)
+4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Public transit commutersWorsening
6.9% (2015-2019) → 3.4% (2020-2024)
−3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
5.0× (2015-2019) → 5.7× (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.0% (2015-2019) → 29.6% (2020-2024)
+1.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeImproving
29.6 min (2015-2019) → 28.1 min (2020-2024)
−5%5 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.

Over about five years, McLean, Virginia improved on 1 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+21%$207,184 → $250,001

Declined2

Transit use−3.5 points6.9% → 3.4%
Price / income+0.7×5.0× → 5.7×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of McLean, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.6 min2015-2019	28.1 min2020-2024	−1.5 min	Within the margin of error	65%
Bachelor's degree or higher	83.5%2015-2019	84.3%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Broadband subscriptions	95.5%2015-2019	96.1%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Child poverty rate	1.1%2015-2019	1.4%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Effective property tax rate	0.95%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	98.0%2015-2019	97.0%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Home price to income ratio	5.0×2015-2019	5.7×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	37%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4792015-2019	0.4772020-2024	−0.002	Within the margin of error	53%
Median household income	$207,1842015-2019	$250,0012020-2024	+21%	Improved	34%
Poverty rate	2.7%2015-2019	2.9%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Public transit commuters	6.9%2015-2019	3.4%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Declined	9%
Rent as share of income	28.0%2015-2019	29.6%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	44.6%2015-2019	48.7%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Unemployment rate	2.9%2015-2019	2.3%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.2%2015-2019	1.7%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like McLean, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of McLean, 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.

For comparison, McLean, Virginia itself moved −4.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

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

49,627 residents (±1,811)

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

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under 10 men (−1.5 points).

Table view

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

Race and Hispanic origin

49,627 residents (±1,811)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

White65%32,352
Black1.7%†855
Hispanic or Latino6.3%3,135

Education

33,858 residents (±1,194)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma3.0%1,024
High school or GED4.8%1,617
Some college5.4%1,829

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

17,147 households (±486)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k6.7%1,143
$25k–50k4.4%750
$50k–75k3.6%†614
$75k–100k3.3%†559
$100k–150k8.0%1,369
$150k–200k9.2%1,575
$200k or more65%11,137

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+12.9 points).

† 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

17,147 households (±486)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

Own86%14,757
Rent14%2,390

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

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

Rent paid

2,099 households (±258)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $75010%†214
$750–1,0002.2%†46
$1,000–1,5005.8%†121

Home values

14,757 homes (±506)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k1.7%†252
$150k–250k0.4%†66
$250k–400k0.9%†129

Age of homes

17,833 homes (±497)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later14%2,427
2000–20098.9%1,593
1980–199921%3,809

Size of homes

17,833 homes (±497)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio1.3%†231
1 bedroom3.6%†639
2 bedrooms5.9%1,055

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

23,127 workers (±1,042)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone51%11,866
Carpool4.1%945
Public transit3.4%†778
Walk1.0%†226
Bike0.3%†64
Work from home38%8,848
Other1.7%†400

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+27.0 points).

† 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

14,279 workers (±966)

McLean, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min15%2,134
15–29 min37%5,325
30–44 min32%4,544

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 McLean'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 $5.1B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in McLean, Virginia: $103,361 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5.1B; −13% vs FY2025
Per resident: $103,361; US $1,994
Sole-source: 21%; US 30%
Single offer: 19%; 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

Federal Acquisition Service$866.5M17%
Department of the Army$579.1M11%
Department of the Air Force$555.5M11%
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services$425.6M8.3%
Department of Veterans Affairs$259.7M5.1%
Federal Aviation Administration$237.8M4.6%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$197.1M3.8%
Defense Logistics Agency$150.3M2.9%

Top recipients

BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC$1.1B21%
THE MITRE CORPORATION$759.5M15%
HII MISSION TECHNOLOGIES CORP$449.1M8.8%
MAXIMUS FEDERAL SERVICES, INC.$331.7M6.5%
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$291.7M5.7%

Spending by fiscal year

3.5BFY2017
3.5BFY2018
3.6BFY2019
3.7BFY2020
3.7BFY2021
4.5BFY2022
5.1BFY2023
5.8B

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$1.4B27%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$989.8M19%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$919.3M18%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$442.6M8.6%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$338.3M6.6%

Part of this section could not be loaded in time.

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 McLean, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

McLean, Virginia's figures are part of those of Fairfax County, VA ($35.1B in FY2026), never added to them: 15% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: McLean 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.

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

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

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/5148376

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends