Northern Virginia Guide › Fairfax County › City of Falls Church
City of Falls Church, Virginia
A city of 2.2 square miles with its own schools, where the median house sold for $1.685 million.
At a glance
Six numbers that describe the City of Falls Church.
The median single-family home in the City of Falls Church sold for $1,685,000 in 2026 and went under contract in five days, and half sold above the asking price. The median townhouse sold for $1,215,000.
The City of Falls Church is an independent city, not part of Fairfax County or Arlington. It has its own city government, its own real estate tax rate, its own police department and its own school division, Falls Church City Public Schools. Most "Falls Church, VA" mailing addresses are not in the city at all: zips 22041 to 22044 and part of 22046 are Fairfax County, with county taxes and county schools, so check the tax record, not the listing. For the county side of the same address, see the Falls Church (Fairfax County) page. This page is about homes for sale and sold inside the city line: what a house or townhouse costs, how buyers pay, what it rents for, which schools it feeds, the tax and the commute. Every number is from Bright MLS closed sales, not from a listing site's estimate. The city is small, so the samples are small: 53 houses, 21 townhouses and 18 house leases.
All but three of the city's 74 house and townhouse sales were in zip 22046. Single-family means a detached house with at least three bedrooms and two full baths; townhouse means end-of-row and interior-row homes; condominium-regime homes are left out of both. With 53 house sales and 21 townhouse sales, one or two sales can move a median, so read the townhouse figures in particular as a guide. Source: Bright MLS, closed sales January 1 to October 2, 2026, County = Falls Church City, pulled by Ahmed Makkiyah.
Prices
$1,685,000 for a house in the City of Falls Church, $630,000 more than the county side.
The median city house sold for $1,685,000 against $1,055,000 for a house on the Fairfax County side of the same Falls Church address. It sold for more than in Vienna ($1,453,000), Arlington County ($1,406,000) or the City of Alexandria ($1,350,000), and for less than in Great Falls ($1,885,000) or McLean ($2,300,000).
Houses. 53 sold, from $820,000 to $2,872,210, and 14 of them (26%) for $2 million or more. The median house is large, 4,158 square feet, against 2,912 for the median house in Arlington County, and 13 houses closed within a day of listing, likely new builds or homes sold before they reached the open market. Half sold above asking, 27 of 53, and two in three went under contract within a week.
Townhouses. 21 sold at a median of $1,215,000, more than a townhouse cost in McLean ($1,100,000) or Arlington County ($1,050,000), and $441,000 more than on the county side of Falls Church ($774,000). The median townhouse has 2,377 square feet and sold at $619 a foot, more per foot than the city's houses ($565). 13 of 21 sold above asking. Only 21 sold, so treat the median as a guide, not a quote.
Bidding wars lift the average. The average house sold for $1,707,206, close to the median, but the average sold-to-list was 102.9% against a median of 100.0%, because a handful of cheaper houses drew bidding wars.
Median single-family sale price, 20262
Bright MLS closed sales, 2026 year to date, except the Fairfax County row (September 2026 alone). The town rows are filtered to 3+ bedrooms and 2+ full baths and leave out condominium-regime homes; the Fairfax County row has no size filter. Fairfax, Alexandria and Falls Church mean the Fairfax County addresses, not the independent cities, and Chantilly means its Fairfax County side. Arlington County, the neighbor to the east, is one row for the whole county (pulled October 3, same filters). The Cities of Fairfax, Falls Church and Alexandria are independent cities next to the county, shown under their own names. Oak Hill (20 sales) and Dunn Loring (12) are too small to chart.
| Measure | Houses | Townhouses |
|---|---|---|
| Homes sold | 53 | 21 |
| Median sold price | $1,685,000 | $1,215,000 |
| Average sold price | $1,707,206 | $1,233,996 |
| Median size | 4,158 sq ft | 2,377 sq ft |
| Median price per square foot | $565 | $619 |
| Median days to contract | 5 | 10 |
| Median sold-to-list | 100.0% | 101.4% |
| Sold above asking | 27 (50.9%) | 13 (61.9%) |
| Under contract within 7 days | 67.9% | 47.6% |
| Sold for $2 million or more | 14 (26%) | 0 |
| Lowest sale | $820,000 | $920,000 |
| Highest sale | $2,872,210 | $1,900,775 |
| Total dollar volume | $90,481,898 | $25,913,908 |
| Cash sales | 11 (20.8%) | 3 (14.3%) |
Four houses sold in bidding wars at 115% of the list price or more, three of them to cash buyers: $1,125,000 cash on a $900,000 list (125%), $1,175,000 cash on $950,000 (124%), $1,600,000 cash on $1,350,000 (119%) and $1,499,736 on $1,300,000 (115%). They lift the average sold-to-list to 102.9%; the median, 100.0%, is the better number. The townhouse sales were clean, with no outliers.
What can you afford in the City of Falls Church? Start from the monthly payment you can live with, not the price. At these prices the city's real estate tax alone runs about $1,650 a month on the median house, and townhouses usually add HOA dues; the calculator adds them for you.
Follow the money
One house buyer in five paid cash, at a median $500,000 below financed buyers.
In 2026, 11 of 53 house buyers paid cash, 18.9% of the dollars ($17.1 million of $90.5 million), at a median of $1,250,000 against $1,750,000 financed. Cash went to the cheaper houses: 5 of the 13 under $1.23 million were cash, likely buyers who plan to renovate or rebuild.
Share of sales paid in cash, by price band and home type
The city's house cash share, 20.8%, is close to the county side of Falls Church (19.6%) and Arlington County (20.3%), and well below McLean (35.8%). Under $1.23 million, 5 of 13 house buyers paid cash; from $1.23 million up, 6 of 40 did. Each bar rests on few sales.
How 53 house purchases were paid for
Four house buyers used a VA loan, and no FHA loans closed on a city house this year. Townhouses tell a similar story on a smaller scale: 3 of 21 buyers paid cash, 15 used a conventional loan, 2 a VA loan and 1 took over a seller's VA loan.
What that means if you need a loan: at the cheaper end, the older houses that draw builders and renovators, more than one buyer in three you compete with may be paying cash, and three of the four bidding wars above 115% of list were cash. The offer that wins there is a full pre-approval, a short inspection window and an appraisal-gap plan you decided before the open house. From $1.23 million up, most of your competition is financed too.
Houses: conventional 38, cash 11, VA 4 of 53. Townhouses: conventional 15, cash 3, VA 2 and VA assumption 1 of 21. Mixed cash-and-loan deals were counted as financed. The price bands are the ones the MLS data gives; with 13 and 40 sales in them, they show a direction, not a precise share.
The interesting facts
City of Falls Church townhouses sold for a median $1,215,000, more than in McLean.
Four things in the 2026 numbers that set the City of Falls Church apart.
City or county? Check the tax record. A listing that says "Falls Church, VA" is usually in Fairfax County, not the city. The city has its own tax rate ($1.18 per $100 in 2026), police and schools; the county side pays $1.12 plus fees and feeds Fairfax County schools such as Marshall and Falls Church High. Zip 22046 holds both: 41 county-side houses sold in 22046 this year, at county prices.
Big new houses on city lots. The median house has 4,158 square feet, and 13 houses closed within a day of listing, a pattern that points to new construction sold before or as it came to market. At the other end, cash buyers paid a median of $1,250,000, half a million below financed buyers, likely for older houses to renovate or replace.
Small numbers, read with care. The city recorded 53 house sales, 21 townhouse sales and 18 house leases in nine months. One sale can move a townhouse median by tens of thousands, so ask Ahmed for the comparable sales on your street rather than leaning on a citywide median.
Rent or buy
A city house sells for 26.9 times its yearly rent, so renting is the cheaper way in.
A City of Falls Church house rents for a median of $5,228 a month and sells for $1,685,000, a price-to-rent ratio of 26.9; a townhome rents for $4,200 and sells for $1,215,000, a ratio of 24.1.1
| Measure | Houses | Townhomes |
|---|---|---|
| Homes rented | 18 | 29 |
| Median monthly rent | $5,228 | $4,200 |
| Average monthly rent | $5,844 | $4,238 |
| Gross rental yield | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Rent range | $3,000 to $10,500 | $2,800 to $7,000 |
Gross yield is before the mortgage, tax, HOA, insurance and upkeep. A ratio above 20 means rent is low for what a home costs, so renting is a sensible way to get into the city's schools while you watch for the right house, and buying makes sense for a long stay and appreciation rather than cash flow. A city house rents for $1,255 a month more than one on the county side of Falls Church ($3,973) and more than the Arlington County median ($4,800). The house figures rest on 18 leases, and the $10,500 top lease pulls the average well above the median. Rentals are filtered by home type only.
Own in the City of Falls Church already? Half the houses sold above asking this year. Ahmed runs a real comparative analysis against the 74 sales on this page, inside the city line, not a website estimate.
The houses
2.2 square miles of older houses, new builds near 4,200 square feet, and Broad Street apartments.
The city covers 2.2 square miles and has almost 14,000 residents. Its house market runs from older homes priced near $820,000 to new houses above $2.8 million, and most of the new building on Broad Street and at West Falls is apartments and condos, not houses.
Older houses and new builds. The lowest house sale this year was $820,000, and cash buyers paid a median of $1,250,000, likely for older homes to renovate or replace. At the top, 14 houses sold for $2 million or more, and the median house has 4,158 square feet, the size of a new build rather than a mid-century original.
Tinner Hill. A historic district on the border of the city and Fairfax County, named for Joseph Tinner, and the site of the first rural branch of the NAACP. Tinner Hill Historic Park marks the history.
Broad Street and Founders Row. Founders Row brought apartments, shops and restaurants to Broad Street, and its second phase has about 280 apartments. These are rentals, not the fee-simple houses and townhouses counted on this page.
West Falls. About 10 acres at the city's west end, on the old George Mason High School site, with an office building, a hotel, for-sale condos, apartments over a grocery store, senior living and a central commons. Condos are left out of this page's sales numbers.
What to check. The jurisdiction on the tax record (City of Falls Church or Fairfax County), the builder's warranty and final city inspections on a new house, the age of the roof, windows, HVAC and electrical panel on an older one, and the HOA resale package on a townhouse.
Schools
Niche's #1 school division in Virginia, and Meridian High is #5 in the state.
The city runs its own division, Falls Church City Public Schools, with one school for each grade band, so every city address goes to the same four schools. The city became independent in 1948, led by parents who wanted better schools.3
#5
Meridian High School
US News #5 in Virginia and #171 in the nation for 2026-27. 92% of students take part in the IB program, and 99% graduate.
A+
Mary Ellen Henderson Middle
Grades 6 to 8, with an A+ overall grade on Niche. City students go on to Meridian.
A
Oak Street Elementary
Grades 3 to 5, about 587 students and a 13 to 1 student-teacher ratio. Niche ranks it #6 among Virginia's public elementary schools.
B+
Mount Daniel Elementary
Kindergarten to 2nd grade, about 486 students and a 12 to 1 student-teacher ratio.
#1
Falls Church City Public Schools
Niche's 2027 Best School Districts list puts the division first in Virginia, with A+ grades overall, for academics and for college preparation.
Masjid
Dar Al-Hijrah
On Row Street in 22044, a few minutes south in Fairfax County. Founded in 1983, in its current building since 1991, with daily and Friday prayer and a school.
Masjid
Dar Al-Nur
The Somali Muslim Association's center on Columbia Pike in 22041, open since 1999.
Halal
Halalco and Ummah Market
Both on Leesburg Pike near Seven Corners and Bailey's Crossroads: Halalco, with hand-slaughtered meat, groceries and a buffet, and Ummah Market, 100% halal.
Because the city has one school per grade band, there is no attendance boundary to check inside the city line; the question is whether the address is in the city at all. County-side Falls Church addresses go to Fairfax County schools, and the county's January 2026 boundary change and the new Skyview High do not apply to city addresses. Confirm an address in step one of Falls Church City Public Schools registration before you offer, and ask Ahmed to pull the jurisdiction from the tax record.
Commute
Two Metro stations at the city's edges, and 25 to 45 minutes to downtown DC by car.
Broad Street (Route 7) and Washington Street (Route 29) cross in the middle of the city, I-66 is minutes away, and the East Falls Church and West Falls Church Metro stations sit just outside the city line on either side.
| To | Drive | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown DC | 25 to 45 min | I-66 east (toll for solo drivers at rush hour), or the Orange or Silver Line from East Falls Church |
| Pentagon | 15 to 30 min | Route 50 east, or I-66 to Route 110 |
| Tysons | 10 to 20 min | Route 7 west, or the Silver Line |
| Reston Town Center | 20 to 35 min | I-66 west to the Dulles Toll Road |
| Dulles Airport | 25 to 40 min | I-66 west to the Dulles Access Road |
East Falls Church station, on the Orange and Silver lines, is just over the city's eastern edge in Arlington; Silver Line trains split off toward Tysons and Dulles west of it. West Falls Church station, on the Orange Line, is just past the west end on Haycock Road in Fairfax County. Since November 2025 it has been a construction site for the Falls Church Gateway project, and part of its surface parking is gone for good, so plan on the garage or a drop-off. Weekday Metro fares are $2.25 plus 45 cents a mile after three miles, capped at $6.75.5 Metrobus F20 runs along Route 7, which is Broad Street in the city, between Tysons and Old Town Alexandria by way of West Falls Church and Seven Corners. The W&OD Trail crosses the city for bike commuters. Inside the Beltway, I-66 is free at rush hour for carpools of two with an E-ZPass Flex. Ahmed will do the 7:45 drive with you before you offer.
Daily life
A year-round Saturday market, the W&OD Trail, the Eden Center and a church from 1769.
The town that grew around a church. The city takes its name from The Falls Church, an Episcopal parish founded in 1734 whose brick church was finished in 1769 and is still in use. Falls Church became a town in 1875 and an independent city in 1948. Tinner Hill, on the line with Fairfax County, marks the first rural branch of the NAACP.
The Saturday market. The city's farmers market runs every Saturday of the year from 9 am to noon in the City Hall parking lot on Park Avenue, with more than 50 vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, bread and flowers.
Outdoors. The W&OD Trail crosses the city, a paved route west toward Vienna and east toward Arlington, used by walkers, runners and bike commuters.
Food and groceries. The Eden Center, about 120 Vietnamese shops and restaurants on Wilson Boulevard at Seven Corners, opened in 1984 and is inside the city. Broad Street and Washington Street hold most of the city's other restaurants. Halal butchers are a few minutes south: Halalco and Ummah Market on Leesburg Pike.
Taxes and services.4 The city's 2026 real estate rate, set with the budget adopted on May 11, 2026, is $1.18 per $100, half a cent lower than last year: about $19,900 a year on a $1,685,000 house and $14,300 on a $1,215,000 townhouse. The same $1,685,000 house on the Fairfax County side would pay about $19,400 at the county's roughly $1.15. Assessments rose, so the city says the median homeowner still pays about $557 more this year, and the stormwater fee went up 7%, about $23 for the average homeowner, with sewer and trash charges up too. Cars are taxed at $4.80 per $100 of value, against $4.57 in the county; the city advertised up to $5.00 in this year's budget, so check the current rate.
Where to eat
"Ahmed, where do you go to eat?" The City of Falls Church list.
Up to five picks in each cuisine, inside the city first and then within about fifteen minutes, the one doing best at the top, and halal marked. The city's own are on Broad Street, Washington Street, Fairfax Street and at the Eden Center; the rest are on Leesburg Pike and Columbia Pike around Seven Corners and Bailey's Crossroads, or in Tysons.7
Closed, so not listed: Lebanese Butcher & Restaurant on Annandale Road and Iraqi House Bakery on South George Mason Drive both show as closed on Yelp in 2026. Inside the city: Panjshir, Haandi, the Eden Center, Seoul Prime, Thompson Italian, Ireland's Four Provinces and Northside Social; the rest are a few minutes away in Fairfax County, Arlington or Tysons. Rankings weigh current Yelp ratings by review count, or Google ratings where marked; the halal note comes from Zabihah, Yelp or the restaurant itself, and "ask about halal" means it could not be confirmed. Know one that belongs here? Tell Ahmed.
Who buys here
School-first families, new-house buyers, cash renovators and Metro commuters.
Families who want the city's own schools, from Mount Daniel through Meridian; buyers of large new houses, 14 of which sold for $2 million or more; cash buyers who take older houses at the lower end, at a median of $1,250,000; townhouse buyers who want city schools for less than a house; and commuters who ride the Orange or Silver Line from East Falls Church.
Buyers choose the city over the county side of Falls Church for the school division and small-city services, and pay for it: about $630,000 more at the median house and $441,000 more at the median townhouse. Renters get in for less, $5,228 a month for a house. The Eden Center is inside the city, and for Muslim families the halal butchers, mosques and kitchens of Seven Corners and Bailey's Crossroads are a few minutes away. If you are torn between the city and the county, settle the school division and the commute first; the price follows.
Questions
What people ask about the City of Falls Church.
How much does a house cost in the City of Falls Church, Virginia in 2026?
The median single-family home in the City of Falls Church (3+ bedrooms, 2+ full baths) sold for $1,685,000 in 2026 through October 2, across 53 sales in Bright MLS, at $565 per square foot. Houses sold from $820,000 to $2,872,210, and 14 sold for $2 million or more. The median townhouse sold for $1,215,000 across 21 sales, a small sample. Condominium-regime homes are not included.
Is the City of Falls Church part of Fairfax County?
No. The City of Falls Church is an independent city with its own government, tax rate, police and schools, and it is not part of Fairfax County or Arlington. Most Falls Church, VA mailing addresses, including part of zip 22046, are in Fairfax County. In 2026 the median city house sold for $1,685,000 against $1,055,000 on the county side.
How competitive is the City of Falls Church housing market?
Very competitive. In 2026 the median house went under contract in 5 days, 68% within a week, and 27 of 53 (51%) sold above asking, four of them for 115% of the list price or more. Townhouses went under contract in a median of 10 days, and 13 of 21 sold above asking.
Do City of Falls Church buyers pay cash or use VA loans?
About one house buyer in five paid cash: 11 of 53 (20.8%), at a median of $1,250,000 against $1,750,000 for financed buyers, so cash leaned to the cheaper, older houses. 38 used a conventional loan and 4 a VA loan. Among townhouses, 3 of 21 buyers paid cash and 3 used VA financing.
What is rent in the City of Falls Church, and is it better to rent or buy?
In 2026 the median house leased for $5,228 a month (18 leases) and the median townhome for $4,200 (29 leases). A house sells for 26.9 times its annual rent and a townhouse for 24.1, gross yields of 3.7% and 4.1%, so renting is the cheaper way into the city and buying pays off mainly over a long stay.
What schools serve the City of Falls Church?
City addresses go to Falls Church City Public Schools, which Niche's 2027 list ranks first in Virginia: Mount Daniel Elementary (K to 2), Oak Street Elementary (3 to 5), Mary Ellen Henderson Middle (6 to 8) and Meridian High, US News #5 in Virginia for 2026-27. There is one school per grade band, so the only question is whether the address is inside the city. County-side Falls Church addresses go to Fairfax County schools.
How long is the commute from the City of Falls Church to DC?
At 8 am on a weekday, downtown DC is about 25 to 45 minutes by car, the Pentagon 15 to 30, Tysons 10 to 20, Reston Town Center 20 to 35 and Dulles Airport 25 to 40. East Falls Church station (Orange and Silver lines) is just over the city's eastern edge and West Falls Church (Orange) just past the west end. These drive times are estimates.
What is the property tax in the City of Falls Church, Virginia?
The city's 2026 real estate rate is $1.18 per $100, roughly $19,900 a year on a $1,685,000 house and $14,300 on a $1,215,000 townhouse, plus a stormwater fee and any HOA dues. The same house in Fairfax County would pay about $19,400. Cars are taxed at $4.80 per $100 of value, against $4.57 in Fairfax County.
Ask Ahmed
Your Trusted Realtor in NOVA.
Tell me what you are looking for in the City of Falls Church.
Buying into the city's schools, choosing between the city and the county side of a Falls Church address, or selling where two in three houses went under contract within a week. Send the situation and get the numbers back, in English or Arabic, not a pitch.
REALTOR®, Douglas Realty of Virginia · VA License #0225242357
Direct 703.957.0060 · Mobile 734.383.6945 · English and Arabic
Ahmed's take
Two or three sentences in Ahmed's own voice go here: who Ahmed sees buying in the City of Falls Church, how Ahmed helps a family weigh the city's schools against the price gap with the county side, and what Ahmed checks on every listing (the jurisdiction on the tax record, the builder's warranty on a new house and the HOA package on a townhouse).
دليل شمال فرجينيا
السكن في مدينة فولز تشيرش، فرجينيا.
مدينة فولز تشيرش مدينة مستقلة، ليست جزءاً من مقاطعة فيرفاكس ولا من أرلنغتون: لها حكومتها وشرطتها ومدارسها ونسبة ضريبتها. بلغ السعر الوسطي للبيت المستقل 1,685,000 دولار في 2026، وللتاون هاوس 1,215,000.
معظم عناوين "Falls Church, VA" تقع في مقاطعة فيرفاكس لا في المدينة، وهناك بلغ سعر البيت الوسطي 1,055,000، أي أن المدينة أغلى بنحو 630,000. والبيت الوسطي في المدينة كبير، 4,158 قدماً مربعاً، وبيع 14 بيتاً من 53 بمليوني دولار أو أكثر. الأعداد صغيرة (53 بيتاً، و21 تاون هاوس، و18 عقد إيجار لبيوت)، لذا قد تحرّك عملية بيع واحدة الرقم الوسطي. ضريبة العقار في المدينة لعام 2026 هي 1.18 دولار لكل 100، أي نحو 19,900 دولار سنوياً على بيت بقيمة 1,685,000. المدارس: مدارس مدينة فولز تشيرش العامة (FCCPS)، وهي الأولى في فرجينيا حسب Niche لعام 2027، وثانوية ميريديان في المرتبة 5 على مستوى فرجينيا حسب US News. ويقع مسجد دار الهجرة على شارع رو ستريت قريباً منها في مقاطعة فيرفاكس، ومتاجر اللحم الحلال مثل حلالكو وأمّة ماركت على ليزبرغ بايك. جميع الأرقام من Bright MLS، مبيعات مغلقة من 1 يناير إلى 2 أكتوبر 2026.
قبل أن تقدّم عرضاً، تأكد مما إذا كان البيت في المدينة أم في المقاطعة، لأن المدارس والضريبة تختلف. هل تحتار بين مدينة فولز تشيرش وجهة المقاطعة؟ أرسل لي تفاصيل وضعك، وسأحسب معك أرقامك الحقيقية، بالعربية أو بالإنجليزية.
وكيلك العقاري الموثوق في شمال فرجينيا.
Falls Church
Inside the Beltway, near Tysons.
$1.055M
Median house, 2026
McLean
Langley, the river, Tysons.
$2.3M
Median house, 2026
Buying power
Start from the payment.
Tax, insurance and HOA included
Home valuation
Priced on evidence.
A real comparative analysis, not a website estimate
Fairfax County
Fifty-one years of prices.
$950K
Median house, September 2026
بالعربية
Every step, in Arabic.
بالعربية أو بالإنجليزية، كما تفضّل