Planning staff unveil 2025 City of Fairfax Factbook showing population growth and housing shift toward multifamily

Planning staff presented the City of Fairfax’s 2025 Factbook to the commission during the July work session, highlighting updated population, housing and economic indicators.

Staff noted the 2024 population estimate for Fairfax City is 26,340 and showed how recent residential construction has accelerated population growth. The Factbook charts show the city’s multifamily housing share rose from about 28% in 2019 to about 36% in 2024 as new multifamily developments were completed and approved.

The presentation included several housing‑market graphics: distribution of housing by price range, sales relative to assessed value (median sales commonly 110–120% of assessed value in recent years), and a 2025 mid‑year update that showed a slight tempering in the percentage of sales above assessed value while sales volume in the first half of 2025 (121 sales) trails 2024 (270 sales).

Other Factbook topics presented: traffic and transit boarding maps, stream‑restoration priority segments with three priority projects identified for further analysis, retail‑sales composition, retail vacancy trends (city rates comparable to county and region at low levels), general fund expense trends since 2008, and student yield ratios used for school‑capacity forecasting. Staff emphasized the Factbook compiles public data from the Census Bureau, state sources and city records into a single, publicly available reference (fairfaxva.gov/factbook).

Commissioners praised the resource and recommended staff continue publishing interactive and archival materials.