Updated October 2026
Maybe the new job is at the Pentagon, the Mark Center, or Fort Belvoir. Maybe a friend keeps sending you photos of brick sidewalks and the river at sunset. Either way, you're trying to decide whether Alexandria is a place you'd actually want to live on a Tuesday in February, not just a place that looks good on a Saturday in May.
Here's our honest answer.
For a lot of households, yes. Alexandria offers older, walkable neighborhoods, a working Metro connection to DC and Arlington, and a real main-street culture. It also costs a lot, it carries some property quirks you'll want to understand before you buy, and "Alexandria" doesn't always mean what you think it means.
That last point comes first.
First, which Alexandria?
The City of Alexandria is an independent city. It isn't part of Fairfax County or Arlington County. It has its own tax office, its own police department, and its own school system.
Plenty of homes with an Alexandria mailing address sit outside that city line, in Fairfax County. The Census Bureau tracks the two separately. According to the American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates on Census Reporter's profile of Alexandria city, the city covers 14.9 square miles and has 159,102 residents. The 22307 ZIP code area, which includes Belle Haven and New Alexandria, covers 3.1 square miles with 10,343 residents and 4,811 housing units in the 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates on Census Reporter's ZIP 22307 profile. That ZIP is in Fairfax County, not in the city.
Why it matters: your tax rate, your school district, your trash pickup, and your police department all follow the jurisdiction. The envelope doesn't decide any of them.
What it costs to buy in the City of Alexandria
Zoom out to the full Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® region, which covers Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church, and three towns. Its August 2026 market release counted 1,582 closed sales and 21 days on market. Active listings reached 3,025, up 19.6% from August 2025, for 2.13 months of supply.
Financing is the other half of the price. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the national 30-year fixed average at 7.28% for the week of October 1, 2026, compared with 6.34% a year earlier. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.60%. Those are national averages. Your lender sets your actual rate.
Our read: more listings across the region give buyers more to look at than they had a year ago. That doesn't make the city inexpensive. If you want the longer version of where these prices come from, we walk through it in what drives Alexandria home prices.
Just over the line: the 22307 ZIP code in August 2026
Many relocating buyers also look just south of the city, in the 22307 ZIP code, which includes Belle Haven. According to our analysis of Bright MLS closed-sale data, 10 homes closed there in August 2026, at a median sale price of $1,187,500 and a median 17 days on market. In August 2025, 17 homes closed, at a median of $610,000 and a median 27 days on market.
Chart 1. Closed sales in the 22307 ZIP code, August 2025 and August 2026. Source: Bright MLS closed-sale data, Alexandria 22307, August 2025 and August 2026, pulled September 27, 2026.
The count of closed sales dropped from 17 in August 2025 to 10 in August 2026. With that few sales, a single month's median moves with whatever happened to close. A few larger homes selling in the same month can push it a long way. Read these as two Augusts side by side, not as a price trend or a forecast.
Figures are our analysis of individual Bright MLS closed-sale records for all residential property types in ZIP code 22307, Fairfax County. They are not Bright MLS published statistics, and they may differ from other published reports for the same area.
What it costs to rent
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey is the steadiest public read on rent here, with one caveat. It reports what occupied units paid across 2020 to 2024, including long-time tenants. It is not today's asking rent.
In the 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates (table B25064, via the Census Reporter data API), median gross rent was $2,089 in the City of Alexandria, $2,276 in Fairfax County, and $1,913 in the 22307 ZIP code area. The ZIP estimate carries a wider margin of error. Median household income over the same period (table B19013) was $119,681 in the city, $153,637 in Fairfax County, and $141,667 in ZIP 22307.
By our math from table B25070, about 44.4% of the city's 44,031 renter households paid 30% or more of their income on rent, and about 19.9% paid half or more. Fairfax County's comparable 30%-or-more share works out to about 43.8%.
For current rents, the listings in the neighborhoods on your shortlist are the real test. The census numbers set a baseline. They aren't a quote.
The bills that come after closing
Property tax is where the city-versus-county question shows up in your mailbox.
The City of Alexandria's tax rates page lists a real estate tax rate of $1.135 per $100 of assessed value. Vehicles carry a personal property tax of $5.33 per $100. The stormwater utility fee is $324.10 per Equivalent Residential Unit, and the residential refuse fee is $500 per can per year, billed with real estate taxes.
To estimate a city bill, divide the assessed value by 100 and multiply by the rate. Use the assessment, not the purchase price; the two aren't the same thing.
Fairfax County's real estate tax rates page lists a base rate of $1.12 per $100 for tax year 2026, compared with $1.1225 for 2025. The stormwater service district adds $0.0325 per $100, and a refuse service charge of $630 per dwelling unit applies where the county provides that service. The county notes that not every rate applies to every parcel.
This is general information and is not legal or tax advice. A CPA can tell you exactly what applies to a specific address.
Getting around
Commute time is the quiet deal-breaker in this region. Census estimates give a starting point. City residents averaged 30.9 minutes to work in the American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates, according to Census Reporter's city profile. Residents of the 22307 ZIP code averaged 32.8 minutes in the 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates on Census Reporter's ZIP profile. Those come from different survey periods, and they describe how residents actually commuted. They don't predict your trip.
The city has Metrorail stations on the Blue and Yellow lines. On WMATA's fares page, weekday daytime Metrorail fares run $2.25 to $6.75 depending on distance, weekend fares are $2.25 to $2.50, and a regular Metrobus ride is $2.25.
In our experience, the farther a home sits from a station, the more the household leans on a car. That holds on both sides of the city line. If you're weighing the Fairfax County side, our Kingstowne commute guide shows how Metro access, the interchange, and drive times play out for one Alexandria-address community.
What the neighborhoods feel like
This is the part no table captures, and it's where most people make up their minds.
Old Town is the city's historic core: brick and frame rowhouses, King Street shops and restaurants, and the waterfront. If it's on your list, we wrote a closer look at what it's like to live in Old Town Alexandria day to day. Del Ray centers on Mount Vernon Avenue, with its independent shops and a calendar of neighborhood events. Rosemont sits between the two, with older houses on tree-lined residential streets.
Farther out, places like Beverly Hills, Seminary Ridge, and Warwick Village trade a little walkability for more yard and a quieter street. On the Fairfax County side, Belle Haven and Fort Hunt follow the same pattern.
If you're stuck between the city's best-known neighborhoods, how to choose between Old Town, Del Ray, and Rosemont lays out the trade-offs. For the full move, from first visit to closing, start with our guide to moving to Alexandria, VA.
Crime figures
The Alexandria Police Department's 2025 Annual Report lists overall crime down 29.53%, violent crime down 26.8%, and property crime down 29.76%. The department responded to 67,274 calls for service that year.
Those are citywide changes. They don't describe any single block, and they don't cover the 22307 ZIP code, where the Fairfax County Police Department responds. If this weighs heavily in your decision, read each department's own reports for the specific addresses you're considering.
Schools
City addresses are served by Alexandria City Public Schools. Addresses in the 22307 ZIP code are in Fairfax County Public Schools. Assignments follow the exact address, and boundaries can change, so check each district's boundary lookup for the specific house before you write an offer. We go deeper on that in Del Ray schools and family life start with the address.
The trade-offs we'd want you to know
None of these are reasons to rule Alexandria out. They're reasons to ask good questions early.
Flood zones. Parts of the Old Town waterfront and the Four Mile Run area sit in special flood hazard areas, which can affect insurance and lending. We cover it street by street in Old Town Alexandria waterfront flood zones.
Historic district review. Exterior changes in the Old and Historic Alexandria District and the Parker-Gray District go through design review. Plan for that if a renovation is part of the dream.
Soil. Some parts of the area sit on marine clay. A good inspection, and a structural engineer when the inspector suggests one, is money well spent.
Aircraft noise. Neighborhoods under the approach to Reagan National hear it. Visit at different times of day before you commit.
Parking. In the older neighborhoods, many homes have no driveway or garage. Ask how parking works on the specific block.
So, is Alexandria a good place to live?
Our read: if you want an older, walkable neighborhood close to DC and the numbers work for your household, the City of Alexandria is a strong fit. If you need more space for the money or a particular school assignment, the Fairfax County side with an Alexandria address deserves a serious look, as long as you know which jurisdiction you're buying into.
Either way, the right answer usually comes from walking the blocks, not reading about them.
Elizabeth Lucchesi and The LizLuke Team at LONG & FOSTER REAL ESTATE INC have spent more than twenty years helping people settle into Alexandria and Northern Virginia. Most of our business comes from referrals and repeat clients. You can meet the team here. It all starts with a conversation.
The LizLuke Team at LONG & FOSTER REAL ESTATE INC. 110 N Royal St, Ste 300,
Alexandria, VA 22314. Office 703.683.0400. The LizLuke Team (703) 868-5676. Virginia License #0225069250.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates, Alexandria city, VA, via Census Reporter: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/05000US51510-alexandria-city-va/
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, ZCTA 22307, via Census Reporter: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/86000US22307-22307/
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, tables B25064, B19013, and B25070, via Census Reporter: https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/latest?table_ids=B25064,B19013,B25070&geo_ids=05000US51510,05000US51059,86000US22307
- Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®, August 2026 market release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/northern-virginia-housing-market-remains-tighter-than-national-market-302884468.html
- Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week of October 1, 2026: https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
- City of Alexandria, Tax Rates: https://www.alexandriava.gov/taxes/tax-rates
- Fairfax County, Real Estate Tax Rates: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/real-estate/tax-rates
- WMATA, Fares: https://www.wmata.com/fares/basic.cfm
- Alexandria Police Department, 2025 Annual Report: https://alexandriava.gov/police-department/alexandria-police-departments-2025-annual-report
- Bright MLS closed-sale data, Alexandria 22307, August 2025 and August 2026, pulled September 27, 2026
