Visitor economy
Fairfax County
County · Northern Virginia. Visitors spent $4.03B here in 2025, up 2.8% on 2024 and up 10.1% on 2019.
$4.03B
Visitor spending, 2025
3 of 133 localities
24,357
Jobs supported
1 of 133
$195M
Local taxes from visitors
1 of 133
$1.25B
Wages paid
$119M in state taxes
Ten years of visitor spending
Where the money went in 2025
Food and drink is the largest single category here at $1.55B, 38.5% of everything visitors spent.
- Lodging
- $851M21.1%
- Food and drink
- $1.55B38.5%
- Retail
- $567M14.1%
- Recreation
- $613M15.2%
- Transport
- $446M11.1%
Lodging includes short-term rentals and second-home spending. Transport covers both ground and air.
Year by year
| Year | Total | Change | Lodging | Food | Retail | Recreation | Transport | Jobs | Local tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $4.03B | +2.8% | $851M | $1.55B | $567M | $613M | $446M | 24,357 | $195M |
| 2024 | $3.92B | +8.1% | $838M | $1.48B | $555M | $600M | $440M | 24,024 | $189M |
| 2023 | $3.62B | +17.9% | $770M | $1.37B | $520M | $558M | $411M | 23,196 | $178M |
| 2022 | $3.08B | +28.4% | $638M | $1.14B | $452M | $479M | $365M | 20,803 | $157M |
| 2021 | $2.40B | +22.3% | $447M | $919M | $361M | $378M | $290M | 17,728 | $129M |
| 2020 | $1.96B | -46.4% | $362M | $735M | $311M | $296M | $256M | 17,573 | $117M |
| 2019 | $3.66B | +4.4% | $820M | $1.34B | $541M | $547M | $406M | 27,846 | $181M |
| 2018 | $3.50B | +5.8% | $769M | $1.27B | $544M | $525M | $398M | 27,567 | $171M |
| 2017 | $3.31B | +5.1% | $742M | $1.19B | $519M | $489M | $372M | 27,477 | $166M |
| 2016 | $3.15B | — | $692M | $1.13B | $505M | $472M | $351M | 26,777 | $163M |
How that compares
- 11.12% of all visitor spending in Virginia, which totalled $36.20B in 2025.
- 23.8% of the Northern Virginia region, which took $16.91B.
- Ranks 3 of 133 Virginia counties and independent cities by visitor spending, and 1 of 133 by the local taxes that spending returns.
- Statewide spending is +3.1% on 2024; Fairfax County is +2.8%.