Clifton, Virginia · 20124 Fairfax County
Horse country, five-acre zoning, and a historic town of 243 people at its center.
Main Street at the railroad crossing· Town of Clifton
Artist's renderings of real Clifton places.
Northern Virginia Guide › Fairfax County › Clifton
Updated October 2, 2026Bright MLS, closed January 1 to October 2, 20261
Quick answer
The median single-family home with a Clifton address sold for $1,100,000 in 2026 and went under contract in six days, and the median house had 3,054 square feet above ground.
A "Clifton, VA" mailing address covers far more than the Town of Clifton. The town is a small historic railroad town with 243 residents at the 2020 census; zip 20124 reaches out to estate roads, horse farms and planned communities such as Little Rocky Run on the Centreville side. This page covers the whole postal city: what a house or townhouse costs, how buyers pay, what it rents for, which high school it feeds, and the commute. Every number is from Bright MLS closed sales, pulled on October 2, 2026, not from a listing site's estimate.
You reach me, not a call center. Calls and texts go to my own phone, and I never sell your name to other agents.
Six numbers that describe Clifton.
★ Closed sales, January 1 to October 2, 20261
All sales are in zip 20124, County = Fairfax. Single-family means a detached house with at least three bedrooms and two full baths; townhouse means end-of-row and interior-row homes; homes legally owned as condos (including condo-style townhouses) are left out of both. Source: Bright MLS, closed sales January 1 to October 2, 2026, Postal City = Clifton, County = Fairfax, pulled by Ahmed Makkiyah on October 2, 2026.
Why people choose Clifton
Land, quiet roads and a Clifton address.
A big house on a big lot within reach of Fairfax and I-66; room for horses and gardens; a VA loan on 12 of the 86 house sales; and townhouses that come with a Clifton address.
Buyers choose Clifton over Fairfax Station for about $145,000 less at the median house, and over Centreville for more land and a quieter road, at about $195,000 more. They give up a short drive to the store, and there is no Metro; VRE trains pass through town without stopping. If you are weighing Clifton against a closer-in suburb, decide on the commute and the high school first; the acreage follows.
Prices
A median $1.1 million for a Clifton house, and $630,000 for a townhouse.
Clifton's median house costs less than Fairfax Station's ($1,245,000) and about the same as Reston's ($1,120,000), and it is big: 3,054 square feet above ground at the median, at a median $381 a foot, close to Centreville's $379.
Houses. 86 sold, from $677,000 (the lowest sale) to $2,650,000 (the highest), a small number for a zip this size because so much of the land is in large lots. The median sold-to-list was exactly 100%, 45% sold above asking, and 55% went under contract within a week, a little calmer than Centreville (54% over asking) or Burke (63%).
Townhouses. Only 17 sold, at a median of $630,000, the same as Springfield's townhouse median and less than Reston's ($676,500). They went fast, in a median of five days, and 10 of the 17 sold above asking. Seventeen sales is a small sample, so treat these numbers as a rough guide.
The spread. Acreage pulls the per-foot price down: the lowest price per square foot in the search was $185. The average house sold for $1,203,202, above the median, because the top sales, up to $2,650,000, pull it up.
Median single-family sale price, 20262
McLean $2,300,000; Great Falls $1,885,000; City of Falls Church (independent city) $1,685,000; Vienna $1,453,000; Oakton $1,420,000; Arlington County, all zips, $1,406,000; City of Alexandria (independent city) $1,350,000; Fairfax Station $1,245,000; Reston $1,120,000; Clifton $1,100,000; Falls Church addresses in Fairfax County $1,055,000; Fairfax addresses in Fairfax County $985,000; Fairfax County in September $950,000; Lorton $930,000; Annandale $925,000; Burke $925,000; Chantilly addresses in Fairfax County $923,650; Centreville $904,500; Alexandria addresses in Fairfax County $885,000; Herndon $879,000; Springfield $828,857; City of Fairfax (independent city) $820,000.
Bright MLS closed sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026 (City of Alexandria to October 3), except the Fairfax County row (September 2026 alone). The town rows are filtered to 3+ bedrooms and 2+ full baths and leave out homes legally owned as condos (including condo-style townhouses); 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.
Townhouse view: each place's median townhouse sale price and number of townhouse sales (end-of-row and interior-row townhouses, condo-owned homes left out), from the same Bright MLS searches as each place's own page, closed January 1 to October 2, 2026 (Arlington County and the City of Alexandria to October 3). A gray bar means fewer than 10 townhouses sold, too few to give a median. The Fairfax County, September row is left out of this view: there is no townhouse figure for that month alone.
| Measure | Houses | Townhouses |
|---|---|---|
| Homes sold | 86 | 17 |
| Median sold price | $1,100,000 | $630,000 |
| Average sold price | $1,203,202 | $623,941 |
| Median price per square foot | $381 | $441 |
| Median days to contract | 6 | 5 |
| Median sale price as a share of the asking price (sold-to-list) | 100.0% | 101.0% |
| Sold above asking | 39 (45.3%) | 10 (58.8%) |
| Under contract within 7 days | 54.7% | 52.9% |
| Lowest sale | $677,000 | $515,000 |
| Highest sale | $2,650,000 | $807,000 |
| Cash sales | 13 (15.1%) | 3 (17.6%) |
Two ends of the market. One house sold for $1,260,614 on a $1,025,000 list price, 123% of asking after a bidding war. Two others sold for about 81% to 82% of list: $1,300,000 on a VA loan against $1,599,000 after 149 days, and $1,150,000 cash against $1,399,000. Priced right, a Clifton house sells in a week; priced high, it sits.
Clifton home prices since 2019
Median- 2019: $750,000 median, 138 sales
- 2020: $776,000 median, 136 sales
- 2021: $872,500 median, 134 sales
- 2022: $960,000 median, 111 sales
- 2023: $979,750 median, 76 sales
- 2024: $983,575 median, 78 sales
- 2025: $1,150,000 median, 91 sales
- 2026: $1,100,000 median, 86 sales
Median sale price of Clifton single-family homes (3+ bedrooms, 2+ full baths), January 1 to October 1 each year, 2019 to 2026. Source: Bright MLS closed sales pulled by Ahmed Makkiyah, October 2026. Single-family homes and townhouses only; no condos.
- 2019: $412,500 median, 26 sales
- 2020: $441,550 median, 26 sales
- 2021: $477,500 median, 36 sales
- 2022: $525,000 median, 17 sales
- 2023: $555,000 median, 17 sales
- 2024: $587,500 median, 18 sales
- 2025: $608,000 median, 13 sales
- 2026: $630,000 median, 17 sales
Median sale price of Clifton townhouses (end-of-row and interior-row, not condo-owned), January 1 to October 1 each year, 2019 to 2026. Source: Bright MLS closed sales pulled by Ahmed Makkiyah, October 2026. Single-family homes and townhouses only; no condos.
Lowest and highest sales, 2026
A guide, not a price tag. The median is the middle sale: half the homes sold for more and half for less. It gives you a feel for prices here, not the price of any one home, and you'll always find homes above and below it, like the lowest and highest sales below.
Clifton closed sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026 (Bright MLS). Single-family means 3+ bedrooms and 2+ full baths; condo-owned homes, including townhouses sold as condominiums, are not counted.
- LowestCheapest single-family house$677,000lowest of 86 single-family sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
- HighestHighest single-family house$2,650,000highest of 86 single-family sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
- LowestCheapest townhouse$515,000lowest of 17 townhouse sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
- HighestHighest townhouse$807,000highest of 17 townhouse sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
What can you afford in Clifton? Start from the monthly payment you can live with, not the price. On a $1.1 million house the county tax alone is about $1,060 a month, and a rural lot can bring well, septic and long-driveway costs; the calculator adds the tax and dues for you.
Follow the money
13 of 86 Clifton house buyers paid cash, and 12 used a VA loan.
Cash buyers spent $17.1 million of the $103.5 million in Clifton house sales, 16.5% of the dollars, and their median house cost $1,180,000 against $1,098,000 for financed buyers.
Share of house sales paid in cash, by price range, 2026
Under $958K 19% (4 of 21); $958K to $1.1M 5% (1 of 21); $1.1M to $1.3M 14% (3 of 21); $1.3M and up 22% (5 of 23).
Cash shows up at both ends: one in five of the least expensive houses and one in five above $1.3 million, but only 1 of the 21 between $958,000 and $1.1 million. Overall, 15.1% of Clifton houses sold for cash, more than Fairfax Station (12.0%) or Centreville (9.3%).
How 86 Clifton house purchases were paid for, 2026
86 sales: conventional 53 · cash 13 · VA 12 · FHA and other 8
One Clifton house buyer in seven used a VA loan, 12 of 86. The other 8 were 5 FHA loans, 1 private loan, 1 other and 1 buyer who paid cash on top of an assumed VA loan.
What that means if you need a loan: you are competing with cash on the cheaper houses and the estates, and less in the middle of the market. More than half of houses went under contract within a week, so the offer that wins is a full pre-approval, a short inspection window and an appraisal plan, since a rural house with acreage can be harder to appraise.
Townhouses: 12 conventional, 3 cash, 1 FHA and 1 VA of 17. Mixed cash-and-loan deals were counted as financed.
The interesting facts
A 243-person town, a much bigger zip code, and one house per five acres.
Four things in the 2026 numbers and the map that set Clifton apart.
The town and the postal city are not the same. The Town of Clifton, incorporated in 1902, is one of three towns in Fairfax County. Most homes with a Clifton address are outside its limits, in unincorporated Fairfax County, from Little Rocky Run near Centreville to the estate roads around the town.
Why the lots are big. In 1982 the Board of Supervisors downzoned more than 41,000 acres of the Occoquan watershed, which drains to a drinking-water reservoir, from about one house per acre to one per five acres, and a court upheld it in 1985. That is why so much of the land around Clifton is estates and horse property, and why so few houses come up for sale.
Small samples. Only 17 townhouses sold and only 21 homes were rented in 2026, so their medians can move a lot with a few deals. The townhouses are the entry point: a median $630,000, a median five days to contract, 10 of 17 over asking.
Rent or buy
A Clifton house rents for a median $4,850 a month, a price-to-rent ratio of 18.9.
The median Clifton house sells for $1,100,000 and rents for $4,850 a month, a ratio of 18.9; a townhome sells for $630,000 and rents for $2,950, a ratio of 17.8.1
| Measure | Houses | Townhomes |
|---|---|---|
| Homes rented | 12 | 9 |
| Median monthly rent | $4,850 | $2,950 |
| Average monthly rent | $5,038 | $2,822 |
| Gross rental yield (a year's rent as a share of the price, before any costs) | 5.3% | 5.6% |
| Rent range, lowest to highest lease | $4,100 to $6,500 | $2,400 to $3,000 |
Gross yield is before the mortgage, tax, HOA, insurance and upkeep. Clifton's house rent is higher than Vienna's ($4,800) or Fairfax Station's ($4,600), and its ratio of 18.9 is well below Fairfax Station's 22.6, so a Clifton house earns more rent for what it costs. With 12 house leases and 9 townhome leases, and some 2-bedroom units in the townhome group, treat these as a rough guide. For anyone staying five years or more, buying usually wins here; renting first is a fair way to learn whether rural roads and a longer drive suit you.
Own in Clifton already? 45% of houses sold above asking this year, and the overpriced ones sat for months. Ahmed runs a real comparative analysis against the 103 sales on this page, matched for acreage and size, not a website estimate.
The houses
Estate homes on wooded lots, the historic town, and Little Rocky Run.
Clifton has three kinds of housing: large houses on big lots across the watershed, a few dozen older homes in the historic town, and planned-community houses and townhouses near Centreville.
Estate subdivisions. Plantation Hills, known for wooded, spacious homesites, Clifton Hunt, Balmoral Greens, Hayden Village and the Ponds of Clifton are among the 20124 subdivisions. This is where the median house of 3,054 square feet above ground comes from.
The Town of Clifton. The Clifton Historic District has been on the National Register since 1985: 62 contributing buildings, mostly from 1880 to 1910, including 53 houses, three churches and the Main Street shops. Exterior changes in town go through the town's architectural review.
Little Rocky Run. A 950-acre planned community with 2,722 homes, 1,653 single-family and 1,069 townhomes, built from the late 1980s, with pools and trails. Many of its homes carry Clifton 20124 addresses even though it sits on the Centreville side; it is also covered on the Centreville page.
What to check. On a rural lot, whether the house is on a well and septic system, and inspect both; the survey, easements and any horse-keeping rules; the internet provider at that exact address; and the HOA resale package in a planned community.
Schools
Clifton addresses feed Centreville High or Robinson Secondary.
Clifton is Fairfax County Public Schools. Depending on the street, a Clifton address goes to Liberty Middle and Centreville High, or to Robinson Secondary for grades 7 to 12.3
Centreville High School
On Union Mill Road with a Clifton address. Niche #11 in Fairfax County, US News #59 in Virginia.
Robinson Secondary School
Grades 7 to 12 on Sideburn Road in Fairfax, with the International Baccalaureate. Niche #13 in the county, US News #21 in Virginia.
Liberty Middle School
The middle school for the Centreville High side of Clifton. Robinson-side students stay on one campus from grade 7.
Boundaries
The Skyview High plan moves 77 Centreville High students to Westfield in 2027-28. The January 2026 countywide review did not change Robinson's boundary.
Centreville Islamic Center
On Ordway Road in Centreville, a Dar Al-Hijrah project, with Friday prayer at the Fiesta Event Center and a weekend school.
ICNVT and Dar Al-Noor
The Islamic Center of Northern Virginia on Shirley Gate Road in Fairfax, and Dar Al-Noor on Hoadly Road in Manassas.
Khan Supermarket and Wow Fresh Meat
Both on Centreville Square, with halal meat and South Asian and Middle Eastern groceries.
H Mart
The Centreville store on Braddock Road and the Fairfax store on Fairfax Boulevard both have a halal meat section.
A listing's school claim is not a guarantee, and in a zip this large the high school can change from one road to the next. Check any address at the FCPS Boundary Locator, and ask Ahmed to confirm it before you offer.
Commute
Clifton Road to I-66 or the Fairfax County Parkway, and VRE from Burke Centre.
Clifton has no Metro station, and from the town and the estate roads most drives start on two-lane country roads to Route 29, I-66 or the Fairfax County Parkway, and the VRE's Burke Centre station is the nearest train.
| To | Drive | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown DC | 55 to 90 min | I-66 east, Express Lanes if you carpool |
| Pentagon | 50 to 75 min | I-66 to the Beltway and I-395, or VRE to Crystal City |
| Tysons | 35 to 50 min | I-66 to the Beltway or Route 123 |
| Reston Town Center | 30 to 45 min | Fairfax County Parkway north |
| Dulles Airport | 25 to 35 min | Route 28 north |
The railroad that built Clifton still runs through town, but VRE Manassas Line trains do not stop there. Burke Centre station has 1,516 free parking spaces and trains to Crystal City, L'Enfant and Union Station, about 51 to 57 minutes to Union Station, weekday rush hours only.5 The I-66 Express Lanes are free for carpools of three with an E-ZPass Flex, and a new I-66 slug-line network (free casual carpool pickup lines) started in September 2026 from the Monument Drive lot in Fair Oaks. Ahmed will do the 7:45 drive with you before you offer.
Daily life
Hemlock Overlook, a winery on Bull Run, and a Main Street from the 1880s.
Outdoors and sights. Hemlock Overlook Regional Park is about 400 acres of woods along Bull Run, with a 3.3-mile loop past the ruins of an early hydroelectric dam. Next door, Paradise Springs Winery opened in 2010 as Fairfax County's first winery. Bull Run Regional Park (1,568 acres) and Burke Lake Park are each a short drive. In town, a red caboose marks the site of Clifton Station, the Civil War siding that became the town.
Food and groceries. The Main Street Pub and Clifton General Store has fed the town for more than 75 years. For groceries and halal meat, the usual drive is to Centreville Square, H Mart on Braddock Road, or Fairfax.
Taxes.4 Fairfax County's 2026 rate is $1.12 per $100 of assessed value plus about $0.0335 in county fees, about $1.15 all in, roughly $12,700 a year on a $1,100,000 house. The Town of Clifton levies no real estate tax as of its 2026-27 budget, so a house inside town limits pays the same county rate as the rest of 20124; the town levies a business license tax on firms in town instead. The car tax is $4.57 per $100.
How Clifton rates
How Clifton rates: quiet, walkable, transit and more, from 0 to 10.
Each score ranks Clifton among the 46 towns in this guide: 10 is the top of the list, 0 the bottom. It is not a national score. The real number and its source sit under each one.
95% of the land is under 50 dB of 24-hour road, rail and plane noise; 2% is at 60 dB or more. Check your street’s noise
US DOT National Transportation Noise Map, 2020 (road, rail and aviation)
8.2 of 20 on the EPA walkability index; 4 everyday shops and pharmacies mapped.
EPA National Walkability Index, version 3.0 (2021)
1.1 bus stops within half a mile of the average home; 0% of people live within 1 mile of a Metro or VRE station (inside the town: Clifton).
OpenStreetMap, map data of October 20, 2026, plus Fairfax Connector, Loudoun County Transit and OmniRide schedules; homes = 2020 Census neighborhoods (block groups)
0.1 miles of bike lanes and bike trails (0.0 per square mile); no Capital Bikeshare stations.
OpenStreetMap, map data of October 20, 2026; Capital Bikeshare station feed
15 restaurants, bars, music venues, theaters and cinemas within 1 mile of the average home (22 inside the town).
Overture Maps places, October 2026 release (open places only); homes = 2020 Census neighborhoods (block groups)
2.1 grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware and everyday shops within 1 mile of the average home; 44% of people live within 1 mile of a grocery store.
Overture Maps places, October 2026 release (open places only); homes = 2020 Census neighborhoods (block groups)
55% of people live within half a mile of a park; 2,739 acres of parks and nature preserves, 19% of the land.
OpenStreetMap, map data of October 20, 2026
The area is ZIP code 20124 as the Census Bureau maps it (21.69 square miles). We rate places, never people, so there is no school, safety or “who lives here” score. Map counts are what the sources have mapped and can miss a place. Scored October 22, 2026; updated every six months.
Where to eat
Best restaurants in Clifton, VA: Ahmed's list (2026)
"Ahmed, where do you go to eat?" The Clifton list.
Updated
Clifton has a pub and a winery, not a restaurant row, so these are picks within about fifteen minutes in Centreville, the City of Fairfax, Burke and Manassas, the one doing best at the top, and halal marked.7
Closed, so not listed: Food Corner Kabob House on Centreville Square shows as closed on Yelp since May 2026, and Khan's Halal in Burke since August 2026. In the Town of Clifton itself, the Main Street Pub and Clifton General Store and Paradise Springs Winery are the local stops; they are not ranked here. Rankings weigh current Yelp ratings by review count, critics' lists and whether the place is busy; 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.
Questions
What people ask about Clifton.
How much does a house cost in Clifton, Virginia in 2026?
The median single-family home (3+ bedrooms, 2+ full baths) with a Clifton, VA 20124 address sold for $1,100,000 in 2026 through October 2, across 86 sales in Bright MLS, at $381 per square foot. The median house had 3,054 square feet above ground. Only 17 townhouses sold, at a median of $630,000. Condo-owned homes are not included.
What was the cheapest home sold in Clifton, Virginia in 2026?
Bright MLS closed sales from January 1 to October 2, 2026, single-family houses (3+ bedrooms, 2+ full baths) and townhouses only, no condos:
- Cheapest single-family house: $677,000, the lowest of 86 single-family sales
- Cheapest townhouse: $515,000, the lowest of 17 townhouse sales
- Highest single-family house: $2,650,000, the highest of 86 single-family sales
- Highest townhouse: $807,000, the highest of 17 townhouse sales
Want a home near these prices? Ask Ahmed, or call or text 734.383.6945 or 703.957.0060.
Is the median price what a home in Clifton will cost?
No. The median is the middle sale of 2026, not a set price: half the single-family houses sold for more and half for less. In Clifton they sold from $677,000 to $2,650,000. Use the median to get a feel for the market, then look at homes on both sides of it.
How competitive is the Clifton housing market?
Competitive when the price is right. In 2026, 45% of Clifton houses sold above asking, 55% went under contract within a week, and the median house took 6 days. Overpriced listings sat: two houses sold for about 81% to 82% of their list price, one after 149 days.
Do Clifton buyers pay cash or use VA loans?
In 2026, 13 of 86 house buyers paid cash (15.1%) and 12 used a VA loan; 53 used a conventional loan. Cash buyers spent $17.1 million, 16.5% of all dollars, and cash was most common below $958,000 and above $1.3 million.
What is rent in Clifton, Virginia?
In 2026 the median single-family house leased for $4,850 a month, from 12 leases ranging from $4,100 to $6,500 (lowest to highest lease). The median townhome leased for $2,950, from 9 leases. Both samples are small, so treat them as a rough guide.
Is it better to rent or buy in Clifton?
A Clifton house sells for about 18.9 times its yearly rent ($1,100,000 against $58,200) and a townhouse for 17.8 times, lower than Fairfax Station's 22.6. That makes buying relatively good value for anyone staying five years or more, while renting first lets you test the rural roads and the drive.
Which high schools serve Clifton, VA?
Depending on the street, a Clifton address goes to Liberty Middle and Centreville High (Niche A, #11 in Fairfax County, US News #59 in Virginia) or to Robinson Secondary for grades 7 to 12 (Niche A-, US News #21 in Virginia, IB). Check any address at the FCPS Boundary Locator before you offer.
How long is the commute from Clifton to DC?
At 8 am on a weekday, downtown DC is about 55 to 90 minutes by car from the Town of Clifton on I-66, the Pentagon 50 to 75, Tysons 35 to 50, Reston Town Center 30 to 45 and Dulles Airport 25 to 35; Little Rocky Run is about 10 minutes closer. There is no Metro; the nearest train is VRE's Burke Centre station. These drive times are estimates.
What is the property tax in Clifton, Virginia?
Fairfax County's 2026 rate is $1.12 per $100 plus about $0.0335 in county fees, roughly $12,700 a year on a $1,100,000 house. The Town of Clifton levies no real estate tax as of its 2026-27 budget, so homes inside town limits pay the same county rate. The car tax is $4.57 per $100.
Your next step
Buying or selling in Clifton?
Thinking about buying in Clifton?
Start with what homes here really sold for, then the tax and the monthly payment.
Own a home in Clifton?
A median is the middle sale, not the price of your home. The lot, the condition and the street can put yours well above or below it.
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Tell me what you are looking for in Clifton.
Looking for acreage, a first townhouse, or selling an estate home where the right price sold in a week and the wrong one sat for months. Send the situation and get the numbers back, in English or Arabic, not a pitch.
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Fairfax Station
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$1.245MMedian house price, 2026
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More townhouses sold than houses.
$904.5KMedian house price, 2026
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Tax, insurance and HOA included
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Priced on evidence.
A real comparative analysis, not a website estimate
Learn more Market studyPrices since 2020
How Northern Virginia prices moved, county by county.
$950KMedian house price, Northern Virginia, January to September 2026
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Learn moreKeep reading
- County guideFairfax CountyEvery Fairfax County town: prices, schools, taxes and commute.
- Monthly reportHousing market reportThe NoVA Index: what homes sold for, month by month.
- EstimatorClifton home valueA live range for a Clifton home from 2026 sales, by size and condition.
- WeeklyWhat's Up, NoVA?The good news, the weekend and the weather, every Thursday.