Fairfax, for tenants who serve the government.
Fairfax County is headquarters to six Fortune 500 defense and government contractors, and the law firms and professional services around them are searching the same submarkets. Here is what the market actually looks like.
The submarket in four numbers.
Fairfax rent and vacancy figures reflect full-year 2025 market data. Federal contracting figures from Fairfax County government contracting industry data, fiscal year 2023. Publishers measure submarkets differently and the numbers move every quarter, which is why no negotiation should rest on an average.
The tenant base most searches miss
Search "office space Fairfax VA" and you get rent comps. What you do not get is the reason this submarket exists in its current form: Fairfax County is headquarters to six Fortune 500 defense and government contractors, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Leidos, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI and Amentum. The county received $38.3 billion in federal contract awards in fiscal year 2023, 5 percent of all federal procurement in the country and 36 percent of Virginia's total, and ranks first nationally for small business contract awards by recipient location.
That concentration matters to a tenant who is not a defense contractor too. Where prime contractors cluster, so do the subcontractors, the professional services firms, and the law firms built around government contracts work, security clearance employment matters, bid protest litigation, compliance counsel. If your practice touches that world in any way, your competitors and your referral sources are already leasing here.
Fairfax is three submarkets, not one
The county-wide average of $29.39 per square foot at 24.36 percent vacancy hides real variation.
Merrifield. The priciest of the group at $31.84 per square foot, 23.05 percent vacancy. The most amenitized and walkable of the three, closest to the Mosaic District.
Fairfax City. The cheapest at $24.73 per square foot, and counterintuitively the tightest, 19.21 percent vacancy, the lowest of the three. Cheap and available are not the same thing here.
Oakton. The highest vacancy in the area at roughly 32.87 percent, which is where the real concession leverage sits for a tenant willing to be slightly further from the core.
By class, Class A and A+ space asks $32.08 per square foot, Class B $27.74, and Class C $20.18. The spread between A and B is narrower here than in Tysons or Bethesda, which means the flight-to-quality premium is smaller and a tenant has more genuine choice among decent buildings at a middle price point.
Capital is coming back, even at this vacancy
Fairfax recorded $133 million in office sales volume across six transactions in 2025, at an average price of $140.98 per square foot, up 25.91 percent from 2024. Investors buying at rising prices into a market still carrying nearly a quarter vacancy is a signal worth noting: professional capital is underwriting a recovery here, not writing the submarket off.
What to actually negotiate here
At 24 percent vacancy, the leverage runs toward the tenant on almost everything except the very tightest buildings in Fairfax City.
The concession package. Free rent and tenant improvement dollars move further here than the modest Class A to B rent spread suggests.
Security and access requirements, decided early. A tenant working with cleared contractors or handling sensitive client matters should scope any secure conferencing, restricted access, or SCIF-adjacent build-out needs before touring, not after signing, since that changes which buildings are even candidates.
Term matched to the contract. A lease that outlives a base-plus-options contract is the most common expensive mistake contractors make here. The provisions that close that gap, and how secure space changes the schedule, are in our lease playbook for government contractors.
Term flexibility. Government contracting is contract-cycle driven, and a firm whose headcount tracks a specific award should negotiate expansion and contraction rights that a typical office tenant would not think to ask for.
What this means for a tenant searching now
Fairfax is not a healthcare submarket and it is not trying to be one. It is a government contracting and professional services market first, with the office tenants, law firms and support businesses that follow that industry. A search here should be built around that reality, not around a generic office tenant profile.
Questions we get asked.
How much does office space cost in Fairfax, VA?
Fairfax averaged $29.39 per square foot in asking rent in 2025, up 2.50 percent year over year, against 24.36 percent vacancy, higher than Virginia's statewide average of 16.76 percent. Merrifield runs highest among the submarkets at $31.84 with 23.05 percent vacancy. Fairfax City is the cheapest at $24.73 but carries the lowest vacancy in the group at 19.21 percent, which tells you rent alone does not predict availability here.
Why is Fairfax such a significant government contractor market?
Fairfax County is headquarters to six Fortune 500 defense and government contractors: General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Leidos, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI and Amentum. The county received $38.3 billion in federal contract awards in fiscal year 2023, 5 percent of all federal procurement nationally and 36 percent of Virginia's total, and ranks first in the country for small business contract awards by recipient location. That concentration of prime contractors pulls in subcontractors, professional services firms and the law firms that serve all of them.
Which Fairfax submarket has the lowest vacancy?
Fairfax City, at 19.21 percent, despite having the lowest average asking rent in the group at $24.73 per square foot. Oakton carries the highest vacancy in the area at roughly 32.87 percent. Low rent and low vacancy are not the same signal, and a tenant should look at both before assuming cheaper means more available.
Do law firms serving government contractors need different space than the contractors themselves?
Often, yes. A prime contractor may need large blocks with secure conferencing or cleared work areas. The law firms and professional services firms working around government contracting, compliance counsel, security clearance employment matters, bid protest litigation, tend to need smaller, more efficient footprints close to their contractor clients rather than the largest available block. Both profiles are active in the same submarkets, just looking for different things within them.
Do you represent law firms and government contractors, or only healthcare tenants?
Both, and more. Brian Perry represents healthcare practices, law firms, government contractors and general office tenants, tenant and buyer side only, never landlords, licensed in Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland. Healthcare gets a lot of the public-facing content because that inbound demand has been strong, but the office side of the practice, including contractors and the firms around them, is handled with the same depth.
Practices that have been through it.
Three practices this office has represented, in their words.
Brian is a caring, expert, and professional real estate agent! This is my 2nd time working closely with him to search, follow up and negotiate on my behalf during my process of finding my professional Business locations! I highly recommend Brian all the way. He is awesome, and you will find him always available for you 24/7 literally. He exceeded my expectations!
Signature OrthodonticsOrthodontic practiceBrian Perry and Chuck Feitel did an amazing job helping me with a recent real-estate purchase for my practice! I know they are well known in the medical community but they have incredible expertise beyond property, connecting me with lenders, contractors, and others involved with the process. I could not have gotten the property without all of their guidance, hard work and diligent follow up. They are extremely responsive and experienced!
Congressional Plastic SurgeryPlastic surgery practice, owner-user purchaseBrian is outstanding. He persisted with us for over a year and helped us get a location that is key to our business - just a great combination of skill, tenacity and personal touch.
Onsite DentalDental group, multi-locationRequest a complimentary strategy call.
Thirty minutes on your requirement, your timing and where the leverage actually sits. A written read on the market comes back before anything is toured. No obligation.