A dynamic Fairfax community with shopping centers, subdivisions and apartments
Named for its location around Fairfax County’s biggest mall, Fair Oaks bustles with thriving shopping centers amid quiet subdivisions. Locals can drive to the Fair Oaks Mall, home to about 160 stores, and walk to pocket green spaces, like the historic Ox Hill Battlefield Park. Apartment complexes and other shopping strips coexist with major employers, like the Inova Fair Oaks Hospital and The County of Fairfax’s government headquarters. Commuters can hop on highways like Interstate 66 to reach Washington, D.C., and U.S. Route 50, leading to Dulles International Airport. According to Jeff Lybrand, the broker of New Dominion Realty and a Fairfax local, this active location draws homebuyers. “Fair Oaks is the commercial center of Fairfax. People are moving here to live in the most convenient part of an already convenient suburb.”
Fair Oaks has many shopping centers throughout the neighborhood for your convenience.
Homes in Fair Oaks sit on wooded lots and tree lined streets.
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Fair Oaks is a rental-heavy neighborhood
Subdivisions developed between the 1980s and the early 2000s make up most of Fair Oaks. In the Fair Oaks Estates neighborhood, Colonial Revivals sit on quarter-acre lots, often dotted with white oak trees. Homes in styles such as New Traditional back up to an 18-hole golf course in the Penderbrook subdivision. Fairfax Farm’s wide, asphalt roads are lined with modern farmhouses and Craftsman-styles. Four-bedroom houses anywhere in Fair Oaks can start at $800,000, above a Fairfax County home’s average $750,000 selling price. Six-bedrooms, meanwhile, may reach $1.2 million. There are several townhouses, with two bedrooms starting at $400,000 and some newer complexes reaching $900,000. Apartment complexes line the streets closest to Fair Oaks Mall. “It’s half renters, half owners around Fair Oaks,” Lybrand says. “There are tons of apartment complexes, and a few of the shopping centers here are in mixed-use buildings. Some of the townhouses are even available to rent.”
Fair Oaks has many apartments and condos to choose from.
Condos overlook the Penderbrook Golf Course in Fair Oaks.
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Indoor shopping at Fair Oaks Mall and outdoor shopping at Fairfax Corner
Founded in 1980, Fair Oaks Mall is home to stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s and Sephora. Escalators connect its two cream-colored-tiled floors, where locals will also find chain eateries like Panda Express, Auntie Anne’s and Cold Stone Creamery. Ferris wheels and funnel cake stands occupy the mall’s 8,000 parking spots for the Fair Oaks Carnival, held for one week every October. Lybrand says locals also frequent Fairfax Corner, just south of Interstate 66. “Fair Oaks is a great mall, but Fairfax Corner is getting more popular because it’s outside,” he says. “There used to be an Apple store in Fair Oaks, but it just moved to Fairfax Corner in 2023.” Birch trees and hedges line Fairfax Corners’ sidewalks, connecting stores like REI, Warby Parker and Loft. It also has a few locally owned restaurants. For instance, a marquee glows outside Ozzie’s Good Eats, a dimly lit Italian joint adorned with red leather booths and monochrome family photos. Several grocery stores are sprinkled around the neighborhood, including a Harris Teeter on Fair Ridge Drive and a Safeway in Fairfax Towne Center.
Check out the Fair Oaks Mall for great restaurants and retail shops.
The Fair Oaks Mall has numerous retail and dining options to enjoy in Fair Oaks.
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The Vienna Metro station is a bus ride away
Though most subdivisions in Fair Oaks have sidewalks, it’s still a car-dependent community. Interstate 66 stretches across the neighborhood’s southern end, making Washington, D.C., about a 20-mile drive east. “It can take an hour to drive into D.C. if you’re lucky. Traffic is bad any time of day,” says Lybrand. “Most people actually take the bus to the Vienna Metro station and commute on the train because it’s quicker.” The neighborhood has several Fairfax Connector bus stops, offering service to the Vienna Metro station, about 8 miles east. Following the Orange Line, train riders can reach Union Station in under an hour. Washington Dulles International Airport is 10 miles northwest of the neighborhood, but Lybrand says air traffic isn’t much of an issue. “Planes do fly over the area, but by the time they reach us, they’re too high up to make a super noticeable amount of noise.”
The Fairfax Government Center houses numerous agencies and administrators in Fair Oaks.
The Dulles International Airport is a major hub convenient to Potomac Green.
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Medical and government jobs in Fair Oaks
Fair Oaks is home to several major employers, including the Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, which has over 5,000 employees across its several Fairfax County campuses. On the neighborhood’s northern tip, an emergency room, childbirth center and surgical wing make up the hospital's concrete and glass building. The County of Fairfax Government Center is in a 12-story building in the neighborhood’s southernmost region. Departments like the county’s tax administration, forestry and public library fill the horseshoe-shaped office, which sits on 100 acres.
Fair Oaks is a suburb of D.C. with urban feel.
The Fairfax Government Center houses numerous agencies and administrators for Fairfax County.
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Highly ranked Fairfax County Public Schools
Children can attend Greenbriar East Elementary School, graded a B by Niche, and Katherine Johnson Middle School, earning an A. They may continue to A-minus-rated Fairfax High School, which offers Advanced Placement classes like computer science, European history and African American studies. All these schools are located over a mile away from the neighborhood, so students cannot walk to school. “Fairfax County Public Schools actually has a rule that kids aren’t allowed to walk to school if they live over a mile away,” Lybrand says. “Even if they live closer, walking is still frowned upon because it’s such a traffic-heavy area.”
Fairfax High School serves students iin Fairfax County.
Katherine Johnson Middle School offers education for students in grades 6-8 in Fair Oaks.
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A Civil War battleground and easy access to the Rocky Run Stream Valley Trail
Most subdivisions in Fair Oaks have pocket parks and resident-only hubs, like the Fair Oaks Estates Pool on Charles Stuart Drive or the Penderbrook Community Fitness Center on Golf Trail Line. Not all, however. The golf course at the center of the Penderbrook development is open to the public. Its 18 holes weave between hardwood forests, 60 sand bunkers and several manmade lakes. Fair Oaks is also home to Ox Hill Battlefield Park, where Fairfax County’s only Civil War battle was fought in 1862. After the Second Battle of Bull Run, Union troops stopped Confederates from advancing to D.C. on the park’s rolling terrain. Today, locals can walk the brick path, surrounded by marked gravesites and historical markers detailing the battle that killed 1,500 soldiers.
Spanning a little over 6 miles, the Rocky Run Stream Valley Trail starts on the neighborhood’s western edge. “It’s part of the county-wide trail system. Biking is huge in Fairfax, so people typically use it for that,” Lybrand says. Dirt, concrete and gravel paths stretch under a dense canopy of hickory trees. Following the trail west, bike riders will cross footbridges over creeks and pass by Greenbriar Park, where baseball diamonds and soccer fields frequently host youth leagues. The trail ends at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, a 650-acre green space dotted with barns and stone-facade houses from the 18th century. Visitors can take tractor rides around the park, fish at Walney Pond or run around the several playgrounds.
The Ox Hill Battlefield Park is full of local Fair Oaks Civil War history.
The Ox Hill Battlefield Park in Fair Oaks is full of local Civil War history.
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Photography Contributed By
David MacNeill
Interested in learning more about homes in this area?
Reach out to
Stacy Martin,
an experienced agent in this area.
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