Kristen Adams
REALTOR®
Fredericksburg38.4100° N 77.4500° W
Stafford.
156,927 residents across 280 square miles, seated at Stafford.
One of 6 areas our Fredericksburg team works.
At a glanceStafford
The publicrecord.
What the county and the census hold on Stafford — quoted, not estimated.
Suburban and exurban, heavily shaped by federal commuting — historically as much as 71% of the workforce left the county for work, and even after two decades of local growth that figure was still 55.5% by the county's own 2019 count. Quantico Marine Corps Base and GEICO, the county's largest private employer, anchor the local economy.
Population is up nearly 9% since 2020, to over 170,000, and the housing market reflects it — median home value around $485,100, notably higher than neighboring Spotsylvania.
Real river access sets Stafford apart: Widewater State Park, Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve, and Government Island — a former sandstone quarry that supplied stone for the U.S. Capitol and White House — all sit on the Potomac or its tributaries here.
- Type
- County
- County seat
- Stafford
- Population (2020)
- 156,927
- Land area
- 280 sq mi
- Communities we cover
- 5
- Established
- 1664
- Real estate tax rate (CY2026)
- $0.9675 per $100
Figures from Wikidata, population as of 2020. The tax rate is published by the county and set annually; check the current year before budgeting.
Where it is38.4100° N 77.4500° W
Where isStafford?
The nearest of our other Fredericksburg areas is Spotsylvania, 19 miles off.
18 mi
Central Fredericksburg
south of center
60 mi
Charlottesville
west
62 mi
Northern Neck
south-east
63 mi
Richmond
south
Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Getting around.
I-95 runs through the county, and two VRE stations put Washington within a train ride.
I-95
With interchanges at Garrisonville/Aquia (Exit 143) and Falmouth/US-17 (Exit 133).
Leeland Road and Brooke VRE stations
On the Fredericksburg Line, with 650 and 300 parking spaces respectively.
Richmond International Airport
Roughly 50 miles south; Washington Dulles and Reagan National each about 50 miles north.
Quantico Marine Corps Base
Extends into the county's northern end, though the installation itself spans three counties.
Inside the county5 communities
Every communitywe cover.
4 of them have homes on the market today. Each figure is live, and opens that search.
- 6FalmouthSee the homes
A historic port town across the Rappahannock from Fredericksburg, laid out in 1727 — its historic district has been on the National Register since 1970.
- 32Aquia HarbourSee the homes
A large private, gated waterfront community of about 4,979 acres and more than 2,200 homes, with its own golf course, marina and stables.
- 0Garrisonvillenone on the market today
An unincorporated community of more than 23,000 people, among the more affluent areas in the county.
- 1North StaffordSee the home
The informal name for the area around North Stafford High School in the county's north end, rather than an official place.
- 1BrookeSee the home
An unincorporated community and the site of the Brooke VRE station, on the Fredericksburg Line since 1992.
Living here6 reasons
The case forStafford.
The figures above read plainly, and what they look like day to day. Where something is a trade-off, it says so.
Space
560 people to the square mile.
That makes Stafford the densest of the 6 Fredericksburg areas we hold both figures for. Things are close together here, which is the trade: less land, less driving.
Scale
156,927 people, as of 2020.
The largest of the 6 Fredericksburg areas we hold a count for, which is what gives it the choice and the turnover the smaller ones cannot offer.
The line that matters
Stafford, seated at Stafford.
In Virginia the county sets the rate, runs the school division and maintains the roads — and the lines do not follow the place names, so two houses a mile apart can sit under different rates and different schools.
The commute is the county's defining fact
More than half the workforce still leaves for work.
Down from 71% in 2000 to 55.5% by the county's own 2019 count — still a majority, and still the reason two VRE stations exist here.
Stone that built the Capitol
Government Island supplied sandstone for the U.S. Capitol and White House.
A 17-acre former quarry, reopened as a public park in 2010 with a mile-and-a-half waterside trail — real federal history, not a marketing claim.
One base, three counties
Quantico Marine Corps Base extends into northern Stafford.
The installation isn't contained in any single county — it reaches into Prince William and Fauquier as well — but its presence here shapes housing demand across the whole northern end of Stafford.
SchoolsStafford County Public Schools
Schools andcolleges.
31,992 students across roughly 30 schools — the second-largest division in this market.
Stafford County Public Schools
19 elementary, 8 middle and 5 high schools, with more opening as growth continues.
Germanna Community College
Operates a smaller Stafford County Center rather than a full campus.
Outdoors4 of them
Where theweekends go.
Real Potomac River frontage, in a market where that's rare — three separate preserves cover thousands of acres.
Widewater State Park
1,100 acres on the Potomac and Aquia Creek, Virginia's 38th state park, opened in 2018.
Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve
3,343 acres between Potomac Creek and Accokeek Creek, the state's 54th natural area preserve.
Government Island
A 17-acre former sandstone quarry that supplied the U.S. Capitol and White House, reopened as a park in 2010.
Aquia Landing Park
32 acres at the mouth of Aquia Creek, a documented Underground Railroad crossing point and former railroad terminus.
On the market447 in Stafford · live
Homes on themarket now.
On the market in Stafford right now.
Live from search.hogangrp.com, refreshed hourly.
All Stafford listingsSearchsearch.hogangrp.com · Live MLS
Homes inStafford.
The search opens already filtered to Stafford — set a price and a bedroom count here and they travel with you.
See matching homes
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Your team3 in Fredericksburg
People who livewhere they sell.
The Fredericksburg team covers every one of these areas.
Nearby5 more in Fredericksburg
The rest ofFredericksburg.
Same team, same standard, 5 other places — nearest first.
Questions5 answered
What peopleask us.
Asked often enough by people moving to Stafford to be worth answering in writing.
Suburban and commuter-driven — more than half the workforce still leaves the county for work, mostly toward federal jobs in Washington. Real Potomac River access sets it apart from its neighbors.
$0.9675 per $100 of assessed value for calendar year 2026, lowered from an initially advertised $0.985.
Stafford County Public Schools — 31,992 students across roughly 30 schools, with more opening as the county keeps growing.
Partly — the installation extends into northern Stafford, but it isn't contained in any one county; it also reaches into Prince William and Fauquier.
Widewater State Park and Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve for real river access, Government Island for a genuinely unusual piece of federal history, and Aquia Landing Park at the mouth of Aquia Creek.
Sources · checked September 14, 2026
Tax rate · School division · Government Island · Widewater State Park · Crow's Nest · Aquia Harbour · Falmouth · Employers
Thinking of selling
What is your Stafford homeactually worth?
Mike Hogan founded the brokerage on knowing the county rather than the listing. Ask what that means for this street — or take a cash offer from a local investor and skip the showings entirely. Neither route commits you to the other.