Fairfax, VA: how dark is the sky here?

Fairfax reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Fairfax's sky is brighter than 77.6% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

How far Fairfax is from a meaningfully darker sky

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is New Carrollton, MD, roughly 24 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.

New Carrollton, MD is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Fairfax compares nationally

Fairfax, VA counts roughly 26,340 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Fairfax places 2,475 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.