The Ultimate Guide to Moving to Falls Church
Falls Church is considered one of the most pleasant places to live in Virginia—but you’ll have to pay a price to call it home. Learn more here.
Written by Melanie Krieps Mergen
Reviewed by Melanie Reiff
Falls Church is commonly considered one of the most pleasant places to live in Virginia—but you might have to pay a hefty price to call it home.
The area known today as Falls Church was colonized during the 1600s. In 1734, Falls Church was founded as a community surrounding the Falls (Episcopal) Church—and one of its early vestrymen happened to be George Washington. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1948.
Today, this historic Virginia suburb comes with its charms—like being in proximity to all the amenities Washington, D.C. has to offer—but you’ll have to take that in stride with the high cost of living. To help you get a better sense of what living in Falls Church might be like,
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What you need to know about Falls Church before you move
Falls Church is within the state of Virginia, but it’s also considered part of the Washington, D.C. metro area. Taking up just 2.2 square miles, this geographically tiny city is home to nearly 14,000 people.
Could one of them soon be you? As you weigh your options, take a look at the following factors, including the cost of living, local entertainment, and public transit options.
1. It might be one of the most expensive places you’ll ever live in
Falls Church is frequently ranked as one of the best places to live in Virginia—but that doesn’t make it cheap. Falls Church has a cost of living index of 157.7, making it 57.7% more expensive than the national average. For comparison, the average cost of living index for the state of Virginia of 103.7. The cost of living index of nearby Washington, D.C. is 154.3, New York City is 187.2, and San Francisco is 269.3.
The most expensive part of living in Falls Church is housing. When you isolate the cost of living index in Falls Church to only include housing, it jumps to 245.5.
The average cost for rent in the U.S. in 2022 ranges from $1,600 to $1,900. Meanwhile, the average one-bedroom apartment in Falls Church could cost about $2,000 to $2,500 per month.
Grocery prices in Falls Church may not be quite as steep, but they’re still about 16% more expensive than the national average. You could expect a gallon of milk to cost about $5 and a carton of eggs to cost about $4.
While you’re out and about, you could expect to pay $3 to $5 for a cup of coffee or $5 to $8 for a pint of beer.
One area where you might see a little relief is in your utility bills, which tend to cost about 5% less than the national average.
The minimum wage in Falls Church is $11 per hour, while the median income is $146,922, as of the 2020 census.
2. You might have to commute to work
Many Falls Church residents have jobs in high-paying sectors like public administration and professional services with many commuting to nearby Washington, D.C. and elsewhere for work. About a quarter of the jobs located in Falls Church itself are in the retail and hospitality industries.
If job prospects in the immediate Falls Church area are limited for your line of work, living just miles from D.C. leaves the door open for plenty more employment opportunities, depending on your sector.
3. Falls Church has a whole lot of history
As a community that was founded in 1734, Falls Church has a whole lot of history. Local historic sites include The Falls Church, which is the church around which the community was originally founded. The original wooden church building is long gone, but it was replaced in 1762 by the brick building that still stands today, making its replacement one of the oldest church structures in the country.
There’s also the Church Hill Farmhouse, which is a historic farm established in 1845 that managed to survive the Civil War. Falls Church also was the site where the first rural NAACP chapter was established in the Tinner Hill neighborhood.
If you’re a fan of historic architecture, you can take the
Falls Church Victorian Walking Tour
to familiarize yourself with the local historic homes and buildings early on. You can also travel the educational Civil War Trail
, too.4. There’s plenty of local charm—and Vietnamese food
It’s not too difficult to find ways to unwind in Falls Church. You can walk, bike, or play a quick volleyball match at any one of the city’s 14 parks, including Cherry Hill Park and Berman Park.
As a Falls Church resident, you also can enjoy year-round farmers' markets, and it’s home to
Eden Center
, the East Coast’s largest Vietnamese shopping center, which boasts 120+ stores and restaurants.When you’re looking for an entertainment fix, check out the historic State Theater and ArtSpace Falls Church for live music, theater, and art exhibitions.
5. Going carless might be easier than you think
While owning a car might sometimes make travel easier in Falls Church, depending on what your regular travel needs look like, you might not have to have one. The city’s 2.2 square miles make it relatively easy to get around on foot or by bike.
When you’re looking to get out of the city, Falls Church falls within the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
, which operates subway and bus routes in the area. Those aren’t your only local public transit options, either. You’ll also have access to
Arlington Transit (ART)
and the Fairfax Connector
.As for regional transit options,
Virginia Railway Express (VRE)
and Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC)
both have lines that run through Falls Church.6. Expect humid summers and cold winters
The Falls Church area falls within a halfway point between the northern and southern United States. It has a semi-continental climate, which means you can expect warm, humid summers and cold winters with occasional snowfall—but it won’t be quite as cold as you’d experience if you lived farther north.
Low temperatures in winter months tend to reach the low 30s and high 20s. At the height of summer, you can expect high temperatures to reach the high 80s.
7. Did we mention you’re just miles from Washington, D.C.?
There are plenty of ways to enjoy Falls Church, but if you tire of your immediate surroundings, you’re close to all that the Washington, D.C. metro area has to offer—and public transit options make for even easier access.
That includes world-class museums, historical sites, national monuments, restaurants, shops, and more. Then, once you’ve had your fill of the city, you can retreat to the comforts of your Falls Church home.
Does Falls Church live up to the hype?
Falls Church regularly tops the list of best Virginia cities to live in, and its proximity to Washington, D.C., opens up plenty of additional opportunities for work and play.
As a Falls Church resident, you can enjoy plenty of local historic charm and a decent variety of entertainment, outdoor recreation, and retail options. The city's small size and public transit options also make it easier to navigate without a car.
That said, living and especially housing costs in Falls Church can be sky-high, so you might need to up your income before you’re able to relocate.
Finding a place to live in Falls Church
Maybe the Falls Church housing market isn’t as tough as San Francisco, but it’s definitely not easy.
Considering Falls Church is just 2.2 square miles, there isn’t an abundance of homes for sale at any given time—and when they hit the market, they don’t stick around for long. As of July 2022, the median home sale price was about $725,000, according to Realtor.com, and the median amount of time a Church Falls property sat on the market was just 35 days.
If you’re planning to rent instead, the average one-bedroom apartment could cost about $2,000 per month, and it’s not unusual to come across one-bedrooms that are closer to the $2,500 mark. Extend that to four bedrooms and you could pay $3,600 to upwards of $4,000, but you could cut down on those costs if you’re planning to share a space with roommates.
Depending on your budget and what you’re looking for in a lifestyle, Falls Church might not be the only city in the Washington, D.C. metro area that’s appealing to you. In addition to Falls Church, here are a few more places you could consider:
- Most iconic neighborhoods: Mount Vernon Square, Downtown, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown
- Best neighborhoods if you’ve got kids: North Potomac, South Kensington, Potomac
- Best neighborhoods for foodies: Chinatown, Logan Circle, Shaw
- Best neighborhoods to buy a house: Stone Ridge, Brambleton, Loudoun Valley Estates
- Most affordable neighborhoods: West Laurel, Cottage City, Potomac Heights
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of neighborhoods, it’s a good idea to spend some time in the area to get a sense of the atmosphere and whether you think it’ll be a good fit.
Pro Tip If you’re committed to finding a place to live in Falls Church, having roommates might help make living costs more affordable for you.
Moving to Falls Church checklist
If you’ve managed to find a place to live in Falls Church, the hardest part is over! Well, mostly. Finding an affordable place to live is one of the most challenging aspects of relocating to Falls Church, but arranging any kind of move can come with its own stressors.
To help the process go smoothly, here are some items you might want to add to your moving to Falls Church checklist:
Before you go
Ahead of your move, make sure to take care of these important items:
- Book a reliable moving company to safely transport your belongings to your new place. To help you get started on your search, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration offers thesehelpful tipsto avoid falling victim to moving scams.
- Alternatively, reserve your U-Haul instead if you’re handling your move yourself.
- Let important contacts know you’re moving, like your landlord, your employer, your insurance provider(s), and utility provider(s).
- Verify that your new renters insurance orhomeowners insurance policywill be active and ready to go once you’ve moved in.
- If you’re planning a long-distance move, consider whether it’s more ideal to ship your car.
- Update your address and set up mail forwarding with theUSPSto avoid missing any important communications.
After you get there
Once you’ve unpacked the last box in your new Orlando home and have started to settle in, there are a few more things you’ll want to take care of:
- If you’ve moved to Falls Church from out of state, you’ll need to re-register your car in Virginia and update your car insurance if you haven’t already.
- Get to know Falls Church! Now that you’re a true local, you can take those historic walking tours, visit Eden Center, and get familiar with all the local entertainment.
How to save on car, renters, and home insurance in Falls Church
If you’re planning a move, you have enough to worry about.
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The best part? Jerry users end up saving an average of more than $800 per year on car insurance alone. Savings like that can really add up when you’re living in Falls Church!
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FAQs
Is it worth moving to Falls Church?
Whether it’s worth it to move to Falls Church for you is going to depend on what kind of budget you’re working with and what your ideal lifestyle looks like. If living in a city with plenty of historical significance near Washington, D.C., is important to you, Falls Church is one to consider—but you’ll want to make sure you can afford the high cost of living first.
How much money do I need to move to Falls Church?
When it comes to the move itself, relocating to Falls Church could cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the size and distance of your move and whether or not you’re hiring professional movers to help you.
The minimum salary you’d need to earn to survive in Falls Church is going to depend on your lifestyle, household size, and whether you’re buying a home or renting one.
If you rented an apartment for $1,900 per month and wanted to limit your housing expenses to no more than a third of your income, you’d have to make $5,700 per month or $68,400 per year.
MIT’s
living wage calculator
recommends a family of two working adults with one child should earn at least $23.52 per hour each to cover basic living expenses in Church Falls, which would come out to nearly $98,000 per year.Save an average of 18% by bundling your home and auto insurance
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