Rental costs greatly exceed budget limits for lower income households

About 87 percent of renters with annual household incomes at or below $75,000 are spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent. This is one of many findings presented in the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development’s (Fairfax HCD) newly released “Assessing Housing Needs in Fairfax County” study, created on the agency’s behalf with support from HR&A Advisors, Inc.

The analysis finds that housing supply is also an issue, as Fairfax County currently lacks an estimated 13,800 rental homes affordable to households at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). In Fairfax County, four-member households with annual incomes at or below $98,350, and two-person households with annual incomes at or below $78,700, are 60 percent AMI.

The analysis finds that the average market-rate rent in Fairfax County is $2,500 per month. To afford rent, a household requires an annual income of at least $100,000. Public safety recruits, construction workers, and federal government workers who are GS-8 level and below are some of the occupations priced out of the Fairfax County rental market.

“The cost of housing – exacerbated by the price of everything else from childcare to food - is pinching household budgets. If Fairfax County increases the pace of production to meet future housing needs to support the availability of affordable housing options, it can ease the pressure on the economically precarious situation so many are experiencing,” said Tom Fleetwood, Director, Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development. 

Homeownership is Out of Reach
Fairfax County renters are finding homeownership more unaffordable than ever. In 2010, there was a $75,700 gap between typical home values and what renters could afford. This gap grew to $321,900 by 2023. Purchasing power of households is further dampened by interest rates which remain above pre-2020 averages.

About the Housing Needs Assessment Data
In mid-2025, Fairfax HCD commissioned the analysis from HR&A Advisors, Inc. with a goal of identifying housing affordability needs across the entire income spectrum. The analysis also detailed homeownership gaps; examined potential economic growth setbacks due to lack of housing; and distilled longer-term production trends. 

Since that time, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted Chairman Jeff McKay’s Board Matter, “Housing Initiatives to Increase Production and Sustain Our Economic Advantage,” a cross-agency initiative due to present information at the Board of Supervisors Housing Committee meeting on May 12, 2026. This Fairfax HCD analysis has provided additional context and data for that initiative. Some of the data was previewed to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors during its February Housing Committee meeting.