Neighborhood guides

An independent city on the Potomac with a 1749 waterfront old town, distinct in-town neighborhoods, five Metro stations — and a much larger area of Fairfax County that shares its mailing address.

The most urban part of Northern Virginia: a 26-square-mile county directly across the Potomac from Washington, with eleven Metro stations, walkable Metro corridors, and quiet single-family neighborhoods in between.

South Arlington on the hill above the Pentagon and National Landing: established single-family streets with river views, minutes from three Metro stations and the airport.

Alexandria's newest district: condominium towers, offices, and a federal campus around the Eisenhower Avenue Metro, built on former rail yards a walk from Old Town.

Among Arlington's more affordable corridors, mid-redevelopment: garden apartments and condominiums along Route 244, with established single-family streets behind.

The Mount Vernon Avenue village: bungalows, an independent main street, and a neighborhood identity strong enough to carry its own price premium.

Crystal City and Pentagon City, reshaped by Amazon's second headquarters: high-rise condominiums, three Metro stations, and a decade of construction ahead.

An 18th-century port grid on the Potomac, a national historic district, and a market with rules attached: architectural review, permit parking, and a waterfront that floods.

A new Metro station, a Virginia Tech graduate campus, and a neighborhood still being built on the site of a rail yard between Del Ray and National Landing.

The established single-family neighborhoods between Old Town and Del Ray: 1920s and 30s houses on tree-lined streets, some of them a short walk from the King Street Metro.

Five Metro stations in about two miles: Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia Square, and Ballston — the densest transit corridor in Arlington and the model for transit-oriented development in the region.

A walkable village center with a theatre and a library, next to a 1940s garden-apartment community of some 3,400 homes on the National Register.

Alexandria's largest redevelopment area and among its more affordable: condominium and apartment stock along Duke Street and Van Dorn, with a former mall being rebuilt as a hospital and town center.

North Arlington's two village centers: small commercial strips with a library, a market, and a beer garden, surrounded by bungalows and 1940s garden apartments.

A close-in Fairfax community of established mid-century neighborhoods and a dense, walkable dining-and-small-business corridor along Little River Turnpike.

Route 7 at Columbia Pike, where Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria almost meet: high-rise condominiums, garden apartments, and one of the widest ranges of housing types and price points in the region.

An established part of central Fairfax County built largely around the Burke Centre planned community, with VRE commuter rail, Burke Lake Park, and a wide range of 1970s and 80s housing.

A large, mostly 1980s-and-90s planned-community area in western Fairfax County at the meeting of I-66, Route 28, and Route 29, with a small historic core and a wide range of attainable housing.

Established HOA neighborhoods, Fairfax County Public Schools assignments, and an easy reach to the Route 28 and Route 50 job corridors in western Fairfax County.

A tiny incorporated town of a few hundred people in southwestern Fairfax County, surrounded by large-lot Clifton-addressed neighborhoods, wooded stream valleys, and some of the county’s most rural landscape.

A small established area between Vienna and Merrifield that lends its name to an Orange Line station — modest in size, heavily searched.

Two commercial centers at I-66 and the Fairfax County Parkway with substantial residential around them — offices, a mall, a hospital, and the townhouses and condominiums that serve them.

An independent city of about 24,000 surrounded by Fairfax County, with a historic courthouse downtown, Old Town Fairfax, and a large area of the county that shares its mailing address.

A low-density, wooded part of southwestern Fairfax County along the Occoquan Reservoir, with large lots, equestrian properties, and a name that comes from a 19th-century railroad stop.

A two-square-mile independent city between Arlington and Fairfax County, with its own small school division, a walkable commercial strip along Broad Street, and a much larger area of Fairfax County sharing its mailing address.

The riverfront neighborhoods along the George Washington Memorial Parkway south of Alexandria — established, wooded, and close to the water in both senses.

The Blue Line terminus and the neighborhoods around it: an established mid-century market with both Metro and commuter rail at one station.

A semi-rural corner of northern Fairfax County along the Potomac, with large wooded lots, a small village center, no Metro, and the falls of the Potomac at its edge.

The Route 1 corridor between Alexandria and Mount Vernon: among the more affordable markets in this part of Fairfax County, and the one changing fastest.

An incorporated town with a 19th-century railroad downtown, surrounded by Fairfax County neighborhoods that share its name, in the middle of the Dulles technology corridor.

Between Tysons and the West Falls Church Metro: established mid-century streets, steady rebuilding, and one of the shortest commutes in Fairfax County.

A 1990s planned community off the Franconia-Springfield Parkway with a town center, extensive amenities, and an Alexandria address in Fairfax County.

Little River Turnpike between Annandale and Alexandria: established mid-century neighborhoods, garden apartments, and a market that trades on inside-the-Beltway access.

Southern Fairfax County along the I-95 corridor and the Occoquan River, with VRE service, large regional parks, and a mix of newer planned communities and older established neighborhoods.

An established single-family neighborhood inside the Beltway near the City of Fairfax, quiet, wooded, and in one of the county's school pyramids.

An unincorporated part of northern Fairfax County between Tysons and the Potomac, with established single-family neighborhoods, two Silver Line stations nearby, and quick access to the District.

The Mosaic District and Dunn Loring Metro: among the densest new construction inside the Beltway outside Tysons, built on what was an industrial corner ten years ago.

The Route 1 corridor and the riverfront south of Alexandria: a large Fairfax County market carrying an Alexandria address, and George Washington's estate at the end of it.

Herndon-addressed Fairfax County west of Reston: 1980s and 90s subdivisions, technology-corridor offices, and the Loudoun County line a few minutes away.

The stretch of Route 123 between Vienna and the City of Fairfax: larger wooded lots, a distinct school pyramid, and a market that behaves like neither neighbor.

Post-war ramblers on small lots between Tysons and Falls Church, and the most active teardown and rebuild market inside the Beltway.

A 1960s planned community of villages, lakes, and wooded trails in western Fairfax County, now anchored by Reston Town Center and two Silver Line stations.

Established mid-century neighborhoods along Franconia Road with an Alexandria address, inside the Beltway and priced well below the city.

The Route 7 and Route 50 interchange west of Arlington: a dense market with a wide range of housing types, a Falls Church address, Fairfax County taxes, and long-running redevelopment plans.

A large, practical part of eastern Fairfax County at the junction of I-95, I-395, and the Beltway, with a Blue Line Metro station, VRE service, and neighborhoods ranging from 1950s ramblers to newer townhouse communities.

Fairfax County’s emerging downtown: four Silver Line stations, two major malls, and a growing residential core of high-rise condominiums and apartments where an office park used to be.

An incorporated town of about 16,000 in central Fairfax County, known for its small-town center along Maple Avenue, the W&OD Trail, and a wide ring of Vienna-addressed county neighborhoods around it.

Its own high school pyramid, its own housing stock, and its own identity west of Springfield proper — a buyer searching it does not mean Springfield.

A historic village on Route 50 in Loudoun County whose mailing address now covers large newer communities to the east, including Stone Ridge and Willowsford, at the edge of Virginia’s horse country.

The Silver Line's Loudoun terminus and the Route 50 corridor beside it: the county's only walk-to-Metro market, and the crossroads village it grew out of.

Loudoun County's largest cluster of planned communities, built mostly since the 1990s, with the Silver Line's western terminus, One Loudoun, and the data-center corridor along Route 28.

A large master-planned community in eastern Loudoun County built from the 2000s onward, with its own town center, a community-wide fiber network, and a wide range of housing from condominiums to estate homes.

One of the Dulles corridor's original planned communities, west of Ashburn off the Greenway, with a nature preserve and an association that predates most of Loudoun's growth.

Sterling-addressed Loudoun north of Route 7: two large 1980s and 90s planned communities on the Potomac, larger than several of the county's towns.

A Route 7 village between Leesburg and Purcellville with an intact historic core, town water and sewer, and countryside immediately beyond the limits.

Loudoun's smallest incorporated town: a single stone street in a Blue Ridge gap on Route 9, with a few dozen buildings and a restored old school at its center.

Golf, the Potomac, and a hospital campus between Leesburg and Ashburn — a resort-anchored community with a Leesburg address and its own set of associations.

Loudoun County’s seat and largest town, with a walkable 18th-century historic district, a courthouse square, outlet shopping, and newer neighborhoods spreading around the old core.

Loudoun's northern tip: a German Settlement town a mile from the Potomac, close enough to the Point of Rocks bridge to put Maryland's commuter rail within reach.

A small town at the heart of Virginia’s horse and wine country in western Loudoun County, with a stone-and-brick main street, surrounding estates and farms, and a market unlike anywhere else in Northern Virginia.

Ashburn's town-center district: a walkable mixed-use core of restaurants, shops, and a cinema, with condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes built around a central green.

Western Loudoun's anchor town at the end of the W&OD Trail, with its own water and sewer, a real main street, and farmland starting where the town limits end.

A small town at the foot of the Blue Ridge on Route 7, with a much larger market of mountain and countryside properties sharing its name.

A large 1990s-and-2000s planned community in southeastern Loudoun County, built around lakes, pools, and a golf course, with a Chantilly mailing address and easy access to Route 50 and Dulles.

A fast-moving, value-driven corner of eastern Loudoun County along the Route 7 and Route 28 corridor — and one of the easiest entry points into Loudoun schools and amenities.

A large planned community on Route 50 in southern Loudoun, built from the early 2000s around a village center, with schools and shopping inside its own boundaries.

A National Historic Landmark village of some 70 buildings northwest of Leesburg, unchanged enough that the whole place is protected.

A conservancy community on Route 50 in southern Loudoun: four thousand acres, more than half of it kept as farmland and woods, with a working farm at the center.

The Linton Hall corridor in western Prince William County: two decades of planned communities, a golf course, and the county's most active new-construction market.

One of Virginia's largest census-designated places: a planned postwar community of tens of thousands of homes between I-95 and the Prince William Parkway, and a long-standing first stop for buyers priced out of Fairfax.

Virginia's oldest continuously chartered town, on Route 1 and I-95 in southern Prince William County, now the gateway to the Potomac Shores and Southbridge growth.

A fast-growing area of western Prince William County at the I-66 and Route 29 interchange, with large newer planned communities, the Virginia Gateway shopping district, and the Manassas battlefield next door.

A small historic town at the foot of the Bull Run Mountains in western Prince William County, surrounded by newer communities, wineries, and some of the area’s last open countryside.

The transition between Manassas and rural southern Prince William County: larger lots, older houses, and the county's rural crescent beginning at the edge of the subdivisions.

A 1970s and 80s planned community on the Occoquan Reservoir, west of I-95, built around association pools, trails, and a marina.

The corridor name buyers use for the stretch of western Prince William between Gainesville and Bristow — a road, a school pyramid, and about twenty-five years of construction.

An independent city of about 42,000 in Prince William County’s midst, with a restored railroad-era Old Town, its own school division, VRE service, and a much larger area of the county sharing its mailing address.

A small independent city of about 17,000 next to Manassas, with its own school division, a VRE station, and a compact mix of townhouses, condominiums, and modest single-family homes.

A lake community off Route 234 in southern Prince William County, built around a private lake, a golf course, and a beach club rather than around a road.

Rural southern Prince William County: large lots, horse properties, wells and septic systems, and the last substantial open land in the county.

A walkable historic river town of a few hundred people at the head of the Occoquan River, with a main street of shops and restaurants and a housing market measured in single sales.

Two large planned communities either side of I-95 near Dumfries — one on the Potomac with a long-planned VRE station that has not opened, one west of the interstate — both still filling in.

Manassas-addressed Prince William County outside the city limits: two established areas where the mailing address says Manassas and the tax bill says county.

The Route 1 corridor at Marine Corps Base Quantico: a small town entirely surrounded by the base, and the community at its gate, with a market driven by orders rather than by the local economy.

The eastern gateway to Prince William County, on the Potomac and Occoquan rivers, where I-95, the VRE, and Route 1 carry most of the county's commuters north.

The Route 17 and Route 29 crossroads in southern Fauquier County: among the county's more affordable subdivisions, and a barnstorming airshow that has run since the 1970s.

The seat of Clarke County, a small town on Route 7 between Leesburg and Winchester, surrounded by protected farmland, horse country, and the Shenandoah River.

Clarke County's second town: a few hundred people on the Shenandoah River side of Route 340, with the State Arboretum of Virginia at its edge.

Two small Fauquier settlements either side of Route 17 — a Civil War railhead at I-66 and a crossroads village in the Crooked Run valley — with wineries and Sky Meadows between them.

The county that surrounds Winchester — Virginia's northernmost, at the top of the Shenandoah Valley, where most homes with a Winchester address actually sit.

The seat of Warren County at the north entrance to Skyline Drive, where the branches of the Shenandoah River meet, with a small historic downtown and mountains on three sides.

A lake and active-adult community off Route 522 in southern Frederick County, built around a state fishing lake with the Blue Ridge behind it.

The Blue Ridge gap at I-66 exit 13, where vineyards, mountain lots, and the Appalachian Trail meet the last interchange before the Shenandoah Valley.

A small village on I-66 in northern Fauquier County, surrounded by working farms, equestrian properties, and one of Virginia’s densest concentrations of wineries.

A Route 11 town of a few hundred people between Winchester and Strasburg, at the edge of the Cedar Creek battlefield, with the community college campus beside it.

Two Clarke County villages on Route 50 and Route 340, built around an 18th-century mill and a signpost George Washington is said to have set.

The Route 29 corridor at Vint Hill in northern Fauquier County — the county's fastest-growing area and its closest thing to a commuter suburb.

A small rail town on the Rappahannock in southern Fauquier County, at the county's affordable end, with a Norfolk Southern line through the middle of it.

A large subdivision of Blue Ridge slope lots and river-access sections outside Front Royal, with private roads maintained through county sanitary districts.

The Route 11 town south of Winchester and the practical center of the Frederick County market — a 1750s village with two decades of subdivisions around it.

Northern Frederick County along Route 11 and I-81, between Winchester and the West Virginia line: older farms, newer subdivisions, and the Millbrook school area.

A hunt-country village of a few hundred people at I-66 and Route 55, with a single main street, and Great Meadow and the Virginia Gold Cup just outside it.

A stone village on Route 50 at the Loudoun line, in the middle of Virginia's horse country and its highest-value rural land.

The seat of Fauquier County, with a hilltop Old Town of 19th-century brick buildings, a courthouse square, and surrounding countryside that runs to farms, horse country, and wineries.

An independent city at the north end of the Shenandoah Valley, with a pedestrian Old Town mall, a university, apple-country history, and a much larger area of Frederick County sharing its mailing address.