Work & commute · Fairfax

Work & commute in Fairfax, VA

Most working residents leave Fairfax for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (10%), Arlington (7%) and Tysons (7%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

820 of 11,579 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

29%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,759 Fairfax residents head out of town to work, 820 work right here, and 21,455 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fairfax.

10,759live here, work elsewhere

820live and work here

21,455work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fairfax goes to work

Washington, DC15.6 mi away

10%1,142

Arlington10.8 mi away

7%856

Fairfax (in town)right here

7%820

Tysons6.1 mi away

7%808

Springfield7.9 mi away

7%800

Fair Oaks3.2 mi away

4%517

Reston7.3 mi away

4%441

George Mason1.5 mi away

4%419

Alexandria11.9 mi away

3%364

Chantilly8.1 mi away

3%310

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%5,102

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Fairfax commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

58%

33%

58%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fairfax is a job hub

1.92jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Fairfax are

22,275 jobs are based in Fairfax. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fairfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fairfax

22,275 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Fairfax residents hold

11,579 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month70%

+4%

Jobs based in Fairfax, 2013 → 2023: 21,429 → 22,275. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.