Scott's Run waterfall· Waterfalls and woods along the Potomac Gorge
Artist's renderings of real McLean places.
Northern Virginia Guide › Fairfax County › McLean
Updated October 2, 2026Bright MLS, closed January 1 to October 2, 20261
Quick answer
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, how buyers pay, 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.
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 McLean.
★ Closed sales, January 1 to October 2, 20261
Single-family means a detached house with at least three bedrooms and two full baths, which is what a buyer 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.
For owners
What is my home worth in McLean?
Closed sales, January 1 to October 2, 20261
In 2026 the median McLean house sold for $2,300,000 and the median townhouse for $1,100,000. A median is the middle sale, not the price of your home: in McLean the lot, Langley or McLean High, and whether a house is updated or sells for its land can move the number a long way. A written valuation from Ahmed starts with the closed sales nearest your address, checked by hand.
Why people choose McLean
The schools come first here.
A short drive to Inova Fairfax, Tysons and DC; the Langley address; and lots that builders buy for cash to build new.
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 usual next moves are a Tysons condo, or Great Falls for the acre.
Prices
What the $2.3 million median means, and what the range looks like.
McLean's cheapest single-family sale of 2026 was $925,000 and its most expensive 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 buyer who will live in it. 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, sales ran from $770,000 (the lowest) to $2.75 million (the highest), and they went under contract in a median 7 days, the same as houses.
At a median $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
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 | 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 sale price as a share of the asking price (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 |
McLean home prices since 2019
Median- 2019: $1,210,000 median, 427 sales
- 2020: $1,368,500 median, 434 sales
- 2021: $1,600,000 median, 519 sales
- 2022: $1,900,000 median, 402 sales
- 2023: $1,717,500 median, 338 sales
- 2024: $2,150,000 median, 325 sales
- 2025: $2,083,000 median, 312 sales
- 2026: $2,300,000 median, 335 sales
Median sale price of McLean single-family homes (3+ bedrooms, 2+ full baths), January 1 to October 2 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: $780,000 median, 58 sales
- 2020: $870,000 median, 47 sales
- 2021: $913,778 median, 76 sales
- 2022: $1,002,801 median, 58 sales
- 2023: $1,020,000 median, 51 sales
- 2024: $1,115,500 median, 38 sales
- 2025: $1,187,500 median, 50 sales
- 2026: $1,100,000 median, 49 sales
Median sale price of McLean townhouses (end-of-row and interior-row, not condo-owned), January 1 to October 2 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.
McLean 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$925,000lowest of 335 single-family sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
- HighestHighest single-family house$13,500,000highest of 335 single-family sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
- LowestCheapest townhouse$770,000lowest of 49 townhouse sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
- HighestHighest townhouse$2,750,000highest of 49 townhouse sales, January 1 to October 2, 2026
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, 2026
Under $1.5 million 45% (28 of 62); $1.5 to $2 million 28% (21 of 76); $2 to $3 million 29% (29 of 100); $3 to $5 million 40% (31 of 78); over $5 million 58% (11 of 19).
Cash concentrates at both ends: under $1.5 million, where builders buy lots, and above $5 million, where buyers do not borrow. Here a sale at exactly a row's top price, like $1,500,000, counts in that row; the price chart above counts it in the next row up.
How 335 single-family purchases were paid for, 2026
335 sales: cash 120 · conventional 192 · VA 14 · other 9
Cash buyers went under contract faster, a median 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, at $2.3 million, a buyer who sold a house somewhere else first.
What that means if you need a loan: in McLean you are competing with cash offers that 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 31.9, well above 20, the level above which renting usually comes out cheaper.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, lowest to highest lease | $3,200 to $30,000 | $2,500 to $6,250 |
Gross yield is before the mortgage, before the roughly $27,000 a year in property tax, and before 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 have the better yield at 5.0%, and are the better first step for a buyer who 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 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
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.
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.
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 runs $45,000 to $58,000 a year.
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 (Metro Center) | 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 center, 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 center, 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 and the Langley Fork fields are also close by.
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 center, 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 of assessed value 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.
How McLean rates
How McLean rates: quiet, walkable, transit and more, from 0 to 10.
Each score ranks McLean 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.
87% of the land is under 50 dB of 24-hour road, rail and plane noise; 5% is at 60 dB or more. Check your street’s noise
US DOT National Transportation Noise Map, 2020 (road, rail and aviation)
11.6 of 20 on the EPA walkability index; 45 everyday shops and pharmacies mapped.
EPA National Walkability Index, version 3.0 (2021)
12 bus stops within half a mile of the average home; 30% of people live within 1 mile of a Metro or VRE station (inside the town: McLean, Tysons).
OpenStreetMap, map data of October 20, 2026, plus Fairfax Connector, Loudoun County Transit and OmniRide schedules; homes = 2020 Census neighborhoods (block groups)
16.3 miles of bike lanes and bike trails (0.6 per square mile); 17 Capital Bikeshare stations.
OpenStreetMap, map data of October 20, 2026; Capital Bikeshare station feed
71 restaurants, bars, music venues, theaters and cinemas within 1 mile of the average home (275 inside the town).
Overture Maps places, October 2026 release (open places only); homes = 2020 Census neighborhoods (block groups)
11 grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware and everyday shops within 1 mile of the average home; 78% 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)
90% of people live within half a mile of a park; 1,992 acres of parks and nature preserves, 12% of the land.
OpenStreetMap, map data of October 20, 2026
The area is ZIP codes 22101 and 22102 as the Census Bureau maps them (25.41 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 McLean, VA: Ahmed's list (2026)
"Ahmed, where do you go to eat?" The list.
Updated
The first question after any move, 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, 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.
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 from January 1 to October 2, 2026, across 335 sales in Bright MLS. The median townhouse sold for $1,100,000 across 49 sales. Single-family sales ran from $925,000 (the lowest) to $13.5 million (the highest).
What was the cheapest home sold in McLean, 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: $925,000, the lowest of 335 single-family sales
- Cheapest townhouse: $770,000, the lowest of 49 townhouse sales
- Highest single-family house: $13,500,000, the highest of 335 single-family sales
- Highest townhouse: $2,750,000, the highest of 49 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 McLean 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 McLean they sold from $925,000 to $13,500,000. Use the median to get a feel for the market, then look at homes on both sides of it.
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, went under contract in a median 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 (lowest to highest lease).
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 20, the level above which 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.
Your next step
Buying or selling in McLean?
Thinking about buying in McLean?
Start with what homes here really sold for, then the tax and the monthly payment.
Own a home in McLean?
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.
Ask Ahmed
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.
For owners
What's my McLean home worth?
Send a message
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Great Falls
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Tax, insurance and HOA included
Learn more ToolHome valuation
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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