The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Fairfax County, VA
Fairfax County, the most populous county in Virginia, is home to 1.15 million residents and includes Herndon and Vienna · Updated November 2026
Is Fairfax County, VA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Fairfax County is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Fairfax County sits near the middle: 55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Fairfax County run from A+ to D+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 857 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Fairfax County as a whole, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Fairfax County scores 857.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Fairfax County, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Fairfax County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Fairfax County
Burglary is a strength. Fairfax County grades A- for property crime, but burglary grades A+, better than in the neighborhoods where 80% of Americans live.
Aggravated assaults are uncommon. Fairfax County has aggravated assaults at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.56 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Fairfax County, 43% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Fairfax County
Most of Fairfax County grades well: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Fairfax County run from A+ to D+; 61% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Fairfax County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Tysons Corner, Vienna, and Wolf Trap areas have the least crime and the Alexandria and Franconia areas the most.
Is crime going up in Fairfax County?
Since 2019, reported property crime in Fairfax County is up 22%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 1.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 12 to 15 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Fairfax CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Fairfax County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Fairfax County
Violent, US
Property, Fairfax County
Property, US
2016
+0%
+4%
+10%
+15%
2017
+1%
+4%
+5%
+12%
2018
-10%
+0%
-1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-7%
+4%
+3%
-8%
2021
-5%
+6%
-1%
-10%
2022
+20%
+5%
+27%
-6%
2023
+27%
+2%
+34%
-7%
2024
+4%
-4%
+22%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Fairfax County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Fairfax County has about 32 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 14% less than the US as a whole and close to Virginia.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Fairfax County, about 51% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Fairfax County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Fairfax County, 2022 to 2024.
In Fairfax County, 47% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 49% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Fairfax County compares with nearby counties
Fairfax County has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest counties.
Empty homes, transit and walkability in Fairfax County
Two things set Fairfax County apart: it has 3.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 16 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary and arson, and burglary runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.3.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Fairfax County: D+ (19 of 100).16 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 92% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 77% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 63% of Americans
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 88% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.60 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 87% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.98% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 75% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Fairfax County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Fairfax County about $719 a year per household, 40% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $296 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $602 million a year, or $524 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$28 million
$24
Rape
$9.0 million
$8
Robbery
$13 million
$11
Assault
$90 million
$78
Burglary
$4.8 million
$4
Theft
$96 million
$84
Vehicle theft
$19 million
$17
Arson
$210,000
under $1
Vandalism
$36 million
$31
Total
$296 million
$258
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Fairfax County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Fairfax County, VA average a SchoolGrade of B: 75% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Fairfax County on SchoolGrade
