Northern Virginia Guide › Fairfax County › McLean
McLean, Virginia
A $2.3M median. One in three pays cash.
At a glance
Six numbers that describe McLean.
The median single-family home sold for $2,300,000 in 2026, went under contract in a week, and one in three buyers did not need a mortgage.
What a house actually costs in McLean this year, who is buying it and how, what it rents for, which school it feeds, and how long the drive is. Every number below is from Bright MLS closed sales, pulled on October 2, 2026, not from a listing site's estimate.
Single-family means a detached house with at least three bedrooms and two full baths, which is what a family searching McLean is looking at. Townhouse means end-of-row and interior-row homes. Condos are not included. Source: Bright MLS, closed sales January 1 to October 2, 2026, pulled by Ahmed Makkiyah on October 2, 2026.
Prices
What $2.3 million means, and what the range looks like.
McLean's cheapest single-family sale of 2026 was $925,000 and its dearest was $13.5 million, so the median tells you where the middle of the market sits, not what you will pay.
The typical McLean house is a four-bedroom colonial or rambler built between 1955 and 1975 on four to six tenths of an acre in Langley Forest, Chesterbrook, Broyhill or Langley Oaks. It sells one of two ways. Updated, it goes at $1.6 million to $2.2 million to a family. Original, it goes at land value, often to a builder paying cash, and the new 6,000-square-foot house that replaces it closes at $3 million and up. That split is why the average ($2.65 million) runs so far above the median: the new builds and the Potomac-front estates pull it.
Townhomes are a smaller market, 49 sales this year against 335 houses: 39 in 22101 and 10 at the Tysons end of 22102. The median was $1,100,000, the range $770,000 to $2.75 million, and they went under contract in 7 days, the same as houses.
At $625 per square foot for houses and $565 for townhomes, McLean is the most expensive ground in Fairfax County. The county's September 2026 single-family median was $950,000 at $457 a foot; Vienna, next door on Route 123, was $1,453,000, and Annandale, ten minutes down the Beltway, was $925,000.
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 | Single-family | Townhouse |
|---|---|---|
| Homes sold | 335 | 49 |
| Median sold price | $2,300,000 | $1,100,000 |
| Average sold price | $2,647,943 | $1,232,281 |
| Median price per square foot | $625 | $565 |
| Median days to contract | 7 | 7 |
| Median sold-to-list | 99.0% | 100.0% |
| Lowest sale | $925,000 | $770,000 |
| Highest sale | $13,500,000 | $2,750,000 |
| Total dollar volume | $887.1M | $60.4M |
What can you afford in McLean? Start from the monthly payment you can live with, not the price. The calculator adds Fairfax County tax, insurance and HOA for you.
Follow the money
One in three McLean buyers pays cash.
In 2026, 120 of 335 single-family sales closed without a mortgage, and those buyers spent $354 million, 40% of every dollar that changed hands.
Share of single-family sales paid in cash, by price range
Cash concentrates at both ends: under $1.5 million, where builders and investors buy lots, and above $5 million, where buyers do not borrow.
How 335 single-family purchases were paid for
Cash buyers closed faster, 6 days against 8, and paid the full asking price where financed buyers paid 98.7%. Their median purchase, $2,315,000, was almost identical to the financed median of $2,300,000, so cash is not only the top of the market. It is the lot buyer at $1.2 million and the family at $2.3 million who sold a house somewhere else first.
What that means if you need a loan: in McLean you are competing with people who can close in a week with no appraisal. The answer is a full pre-approval, an appraisal gap you can live with, and an offer on the house that is right for you rather than the one with the longest line.
Townhomes: 16 of 49 sales were cash (33%), and those buyers spent $21.2 million of $60.4 million (35%). The cash median was $1,252,500 against $1,060,000 for financed townhomes. "Cash plus conventional" and "other" financing were counted as financed, so the true cash share is slightly higher.
Rent or buy
By the math, McLean is a place you rent. People buy anyway.
A single-family home rents for a median of $6,000 a month and sells for $2.3 million, a price-to-rent ratio of 32 against the 20 where renting usually wins.1
| Measure | Single-family | Townhome |
|---|---|---|
| Homes rented | 164 | 91 |
| Median monthly rent | $6,000 | $4,600 |
| Average monthly rent | $6,781 | $4,565 |
| Median rent per square foot | $2.36 | $2.50 |
| Median days to lease | 20 | 14 |
| Rent range | $3,200 to $30,000 | $2,500 to $6,250 |
Gross yield is before the mortgage, the $27,000 a year in property tax, insurance and upkeep, so a McLean house is not an income play. Owners here are buying land that does not get made any more, two of the best high schools in Virginia, and a street where the next house to sell will be a $3 million new build. Townhomes are the better investor's play at 5.0%, and the better first step for a family that wants Langley without the land.
Own in McLean already? With new builds closing at $3 million next door, your assessment is probably behind the market. Ahmed runs a real comparative analysis, not a website estimate.
The houses
Old money lots, new money houses.
McLean is 51,000 people on big wooded lots between the Potomac, the CIA and Tysons, and it is the teardown capital of the Washington area.
The original stock. Colonials, ramblers and split-levels from the 1950s to the 1970s on four tenths of an acre to an acre: Langley Forest, Langley Oaks, Chesterbrook, Broyhill-Langley Estates, Salona Village, West Lewinsville Heights. Many have had one renovation in the 1990s and are due another. These are the $1.6 million to $2.2 million family houses.
The new stock. Custom and semi-custom builds of 5,000 to 8,000 square feet replacing the originals, with the lot as the asset. Fairfax County's tree ordinance and setbacks decide what can be built; ask for the plat before you bid on a lot. These are the $3 million to $5 million closings, and the $10 million and up sales are on the river and along Georgetown Pike.
Townhomes and condos. The townhomes sit at the Tysons end of 22102 and along Old Dominion Drive. The Rotonda, McLean House and the new Tysons towers hold most of the condo stock; they are not in the numbers on this page.
What to inspect. Radon, which is routine in this bedrock and routinely paid for by sellers. 1960s electrical panels and galvanized pipe. Oil tanks on older lots. Drainage toward the Pimmit Run and Scott's Run streams. And on any new build, the builder's warranty terms and who holds the stormwater easement.
Schools
Two A+ high schools, and a boundary that just moved.
McLean addresses feed Langley High or McLean High, ranked second and third of Fairfax County's 25 high schools on Niche's 2027 list, and 201 students moved from McLean to Langley in fall 2026.3
A+
Langley High School
Niche #2 in Fairfax County, US News #4 in Virginia for 2026-27. Serves most of 22101 north of Dolley Madison Boulevard and Great Falls.
A+
McLean High School
Niche #3 in the county, US News #6 in Virginia. Serves central McLean and the Tysons end of 22102; some Tysons addresses feed Marshall.
K–12
The private options
The Potomac School and the Langley School are in town; Madeira (girls, day and boarding) is on Georgetown Pike; BASIS Independent is in Tysons. Tuition $45,000 to $58,000.
Masjid
McLean Islamic Center
On Jarrett Valley Drive at the Tysons edge, new building since 2016, with weekend Quran and Arabic classes. Al Fatih Academy in Reston is the nearest full-time Islamic school.
Fairfax County approved its first county-wide boundary change in forty years in January 2026, effective this fall, and the McLean-to-Langley move was part of it. A listing's school claim is not a guarantee. Check the exact address at the FCPS Boundary Locator, which already shows 2026-27 assignments, and ask Ahmed to pull the assigned schools from the MLS record.
Commute
Thirty minutes to downtown, ten to Tysons.
McLean is the closest Fairfax County town to Washington, with the GW Parkway, Chain Bridge and the Silver Line all within reach, and the Beltway's 495 NEXT express lanes now ending at its door.5
| To | Drive | Transit | Route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown DC (Farragut) | 30 to 50 min | 25 min | GW Parkway or Chain Bridge; Silver Line from McLean station to Metro Center |
| Pentagon | 20 to 35 min | 35 min | GW Parkway to I-395; Silver to Blue at Rosslyn |
| Tysons | 10 to 15 min | 5 min | Route 123; one stop on the Silver Line |
| Reston Town Center | 20 to 30 min | 20 min | Dulles Toll Road ($6 to the Beltway) or Silver Line |
| Dulles Airport | 25 to 35 min | 35 min | Dulles Access Road (free) or Silver Line to the terminal |
| Reagan National | 20 to 30 min | 40 min | GW Parkway; Silver to Blue |
McLean station is at the Tysons end of Dolley Madison Boulevard, about two miles from the village centre, so most residents drive or get dropped there. Weekday Metro fares are $2.25 plus 45 cents a mile after three miles, capped at $6.75, and trains run every 10 minutes under the 2027 budget. The real test is to drive it on a Tuesday at 7:45. Ahmed will do that drive with you.
Daily life
A village centre, a national park, and Tysons next door.
The village. Downtown McLean at Chain Bridge Road and Old Dominion Drive: Langley Shopping Center, the Giant and Safeway, the library, the Friday farmers market from May to November. Tysons Galleria and Tysons Corner Center, the largest mall in the region, are five minutes away.
Outdoors. Great Falls Park, where the Potomac drops 76 feet through Mather Gorge, is McLean's back garden, and the Potomac Heritage Trail runs along the river below Turkey Run. Scott's Run Nature Preserve, Clemyjontri Park for small children, and the Langley Fork fields.
Halal and Middle Eastern. Yas Bakery in Vienna, the Persian grocer since 1986, is 15 minutes. Halalco in Bailey's Crossroads, one of the largest halal supermarkets in the country, and Jenin Pastry are 15 to 20 minutes down Route 7. Lebanese Taverna is in Tysons.
Hospitals and airports. Inova Fairfax, Northern Virginia's only Level I trauma centre, is 15 minutes. Reagan National is 20 minutes down the Parkway; Dulles 25 on the Access Road.
Taxes.4 McLean is unincorporated, so there is no town tax: the 2026 county rate is $1.12 per $100 plus about $0.034 in county fees and $0.023 for the McLean Community Center district, about $1.18 all in. On a $2.3 million house that is roughly $27,000 a year. The car tax is $4.57 per $100 of each vehicle's value.
Where to eat
"Ahmed, where do you go to eat?" The list.
The first question from every family who moves here, answered: the top five near McLean in each cuisine, with the one that is doing best right now at the top of each list, and halal marked.7
Everything here is within about fifteen minutes of McLean, so Tysons, Vienna, Falls Church and Bailey's Crossroads are included, because that is where the Middle Eastern food is. Rankings weigh current reviews across Google, Yelp and OpenTable, the 2026 Washingtonian and Northern Virginia Magazine lists, and whether the place is busy; the halal note comes from Zabihah or the restaurant's own menu, so ask when it says ask. Checked October 2026. Closed places (Fatouche, Saba, Kirby Club, Sapphire, Dhoom, Assaggi, the Halal Guys) are left off.
Also worth knowing: Seray (new Lebanese, Vienna), Cafe Levantine (McLean), Wooden Bakery (manaqish, Vienna), Rashfa Cafe (Yemeni coffee, Falls Church, opened September 2026), Yas Bakery (the Persian grocer, Vienna), Halalco (the halal supermarket, Bailey's Crossroads), Big Buns (halal burgers, Vienna), Vienna Inn (chili dogs) and Matchbox McLean.
Know one that belongs on this list? Tell Ahmed. The list is updated when a place changes hands or a new one opens.
Who buys here
People who have already decided on the schools.
Executives, diplomats, senior contractors and Inova doctors; families moving up for Langley; and builders buying lots for cash.
Buyers choose McLean over Vienna for the schools and the river, and over Great Falls for public sewer, shorter drives and the Silver Line. They choose it over Arlington for the lot. Great Falls, next door, had a 2026 median of $1,885,000 on bigger lots, with no townhomes sold at all. The ones who leave are usually downsizing into a Tysons condo with the equity, or moving to Great Falls for the acre.
Questions
What people ask about McLean.
How much does a house cost in McLean, Virginia in 2026?
The median single-family home (3+ bedrooms, 2+ full baths) sold for $2,300,000 in 2026 through early October, across 335 sales in Bright MLS. The median townhouse sold for $1,100,000 across 49 sales. Sales ran from $925,000 to $13.5 million.
What percentage of McLean home buyers pay cash?
About 36%. In 2026, 120 of 335 single-family sales and 16 of 49 townhouse sales closed with cash. Cash buyers spent 40% of all the money, closed in 6 days instead of 8, and paid 100% of asking against 98.7% for financed buyers. Cash is most common under $1.5 million (45%) and above $5 million (58%).
How fast do homes sell in McLean?
The median single-family home and the median townhouse both went under contract in 7 days in 2026. The median sale closed at 99% of the asking price.
What is rent in McLean, Virginia?
In 2026 the median single-family rental (3+ bedrooms) leased for $6,000 a month and the median townhouse for $4,600, across 164 and 91 closed leases in Bright MLS. Rents ran from $3,200 to $30,000 for houses and $2,500 to $6,250 for townhomes.
Is it better to rent or buy in McLean?
By the numbers, renting a single-family home is cheaper: the price-to-rent ratio is 31.9, far above the 20 where renting usually wins, and gross rental yield is 3.1%. Townhomes sit just under that line, at a ratio of 19.9 and a 5.0% yield. People buy McLean houses for the land, the schools and long-term value, not for monthly savings.
Which high schools serve McLean?
Langley High School and McLean High School, both rated A+ by Niche and ranked second and third in Fairfax County for 2027. In fall 2026, 201 students moved from McLean High to Langley under the county boundary change, so check any address at the FCPS Boundary Locator. Some Tysons-end addresses feed Marshall.
How long is the commute from McLean to Washington, DC?
About 30 to 50 minutes by car at 8 am via the GW Parkway or Chain Bridge, or about 25 minutes on the Silver Line from McLean station to Metro Center. Tysons is 10 to 15 minutes and the Pentagon 20 to 35.
What is the property tax in McLean?
McLean is unincorporated Fairfax County, so the 2026 rate is $1.12 per $100 of assessed value plus about $0.034 in county fees and $0.023 for the McLean Community Center district, roughly $1.18 in total. On a $2.3 million house that is about $27,000 a year.
Ask Ahmed
Your Trusted Realtor in NOVA.
Tell me what you are looking for in McLean.
Buying, selling or just deciding between McLean and Vienna. Send the situation and get the numbers back, in English or Arabic, not a pitch.
REALTOR®, Douglas Realty of Virginia · VA License #0225242357
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Ahmed's take
Two or three sentences in Ahmed's own voice go here: who Ahmed sees moving to McLean, what surprises them, and what Ahmed tells them first.
دليل شمال فرجينيا
السكن في ماكلين، فرجينيا.
بلغ السعر الوسطي للبيت المستقل 2,300,000 دولار في 2026، ودفع ثلث المشترين نقداً.
ماكلين أغلى منطقة في مقاطعة فيرفاكس: بيوت على قطع أرض كبيرة بين نهر بوتوماك وتايسونز، ومدرستان ثانويتان من أفضل المدارس في فرجينيا (لانغلي وماكلين). تعود أغلب البيوت الأصلية إلى الفترة من الخمسينيات إلى السبعينيات، وكثير منها يُهدم ويُبنى مكانه بيت جديد يُباع بـ 3 ملايين أو أكثر. جميع الأرقام من Bright MLS، مبيعات مغلقة من 1 يناير إلى 2 أكتوبر 2026.
حسابياً، الإيجار في ماكلين أرخص من الشراء: نسبة السعر إلى الإيجار 32 للبيت المستقل، و20 للتاون هاوس. لكن الناس يشترون في ماكلين من أجل الأرض والمدارس والقيمة على المدى الطويل، لا من أجل القسط الشهري. هل تفكر في ماكلين، أو تحتار بينها وبين فيينا؟ أرسل لي تفاصيل وضعك، وسأحسب معك أرقامك الحقيقية، بالعربية أو بالإنجليزية.
وكيلك العقاري الموثوق في شمال فرجينيا.
Great Falls
An acre and a long driveway.
$1.885M
Median house, 2026
Vienna
A real town on the Orange Line.
$1.453M
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