Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the Commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It is part of

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

and borders both the city of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

and

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

and forms part of the suburban ring of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The county is predominantly suburban in character with some

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

pockets. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,150,309, making it Virginia's most populous jurisdiction, with around 13% of the Commonwealth's population. The county is also the most populous jurisdiction in the

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

, with around 20% of the MSA population, as well as the larger Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area, with around 13% of the

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

population. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Fairfax, although because it is an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

under Virginia law, the city of Fairfax is not part of Fairfax County. Fairfax was the first U.S. county to reach a six-figure median household income and has the third- highest median household income of any county-level local jurisdiction in the U.S. Fairfax County, as part of the

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

, is usually included atop or near the top of lists of the wealthiest areas in the United States. The county is home to the headquarters of several

intelligence agencies An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informatio ...

such as the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of natio ...

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. fe ...

National Counterterrorism Center The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in Liberty Crossing, a modern complex near Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia ...

, and

Office of the Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Comm ...

as well as the headquarters of several

aerospace manufacturing An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

and

defense industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and s ...

giants. The county is also home to the flagship campus of George Mason University, and headquarters to seven ''Fortune'' 500 companies, including three in the Falls Church area, though not in the independent municipality of Falls Church.

History

At the time of first European encounter, the inhabitants of what would become Fairfax County were an Algonquian-speaking subgroup called the '' Taux'', also known as the Doeg or Dogue. Their villages, as recorded by

Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...

in 1608, included ''Namassingakent'' and ''Nemaroughquand'' on the south bank of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

in what is now Fairfax County. Virginian colonists from the

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The P ...

region drove the Doeg out of this area and into

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

by 1670. Fairfax County was formed in 1742 from the northern part of

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

. It was named after

Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (22 October 16939 December 1781), was a Scottish peer. He was the son of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, and Catherine Colepeper, daughter of Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper. The ...

(1693–1781), proprietor of the

. The Fairfax family name is derived from the Old English phrase for " blond hair", ''Fæger-feax''. The oldest settlements in Fairfax County were along the Potomac River.

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

settled in Fairfax County and built his home,

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, facing the river.

Gunston Hall Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States. Built between 1755 and 1759 as the main residence and headquarters of a plantation, the house was the home of the United State ...

, the home of

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...

, is nearby. Modern

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fai ...

is partly on the estate of Belvoir Manor, built along the Potomac by William Fairfax in 1741.

Thomas Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...

, the only member of the British nobility ever to reside in the colonies, lived at Belvoir before moving to the Shenandoah Valley. The Belvoir mansion and several of its outbuildings were destroyed by fire immediately after the Revolutionary War in 1783, and

noted the plantation complex deteriorated into ruins. In 1757, the northwestern two-thirds of Fairfax County became

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

. In 1789, part of Fairfax County was ceded to the federal government to form Alexandria County of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Alexandria County was returned to Virginia in 1846, reduced in size by the secession of the

in 1870, and renamed

in 1920. The Fairfax County town of Falls Church became an independent city in 1948. The Fairfax County town of Fairfax became an independent city in 1961. Battles on Fairfax and Prince William border

Battles on Fairfax and Prince William border

Located near Washington, D.C., Fairfax County was an important region in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. The

Battle of Chantilly The Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill, the Confederate name) took place on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as the concluding battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corp ...

or Ox Hill, during the same campaign as the second Battle of Bull Run, was fought within the county; Bull Run is the border between Fairfax and Prince William Counties. Other areas of activity included Minor's Hill, Munson's Hill, and

Upton's Hill Upton's Hill is a geographic eminence located in western Arlington County, Virginia. Its summit rises to above sea level. Location Upton's Hill straddles the border of Arlington County and Fairfax County, Virginia at . The hill is generally c ...

, on the county's eastern border, overlooking Washington, D.C. The federal government's growth during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

spurred rapid growth in the county and made it increasingly suburban. Other large businesses continued to settle in Fairfax County and the opening of

Tysons Corner Center Tysons Corner Center is a shopping mall in the unincorporated area of Tysons in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States (between McLean and Vienna, Virginia). It opened to the public in 1968, becoming one of the first fully enclosed, climate-contr ...

spurred the rise of

Tysons Corner Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...

. The technology boom and a steady government-driven economy also created rapid growth and an increasingly large and diverse population. The economy has also made Fairfax County one of the nation's wealthiest counties. A general aviation airport along U.S. Route 50 west of Seven Corners called the Falls Church Airpark operated in the county from 1948 to 1960. The facility's 2,650-foot unpaved runway was used extensively by private pilots and civil defense officials. Residential development, multiple accidents, and the demand for retail space led to its closure in 1960.Freeman, Paul "Falls Church Airpark, Falls Church, VA" ''Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields''. Retrieved March 19, 201

/ref>Rollo, Vera (2003) ''Virginia Airports: A Historical Survey of Airports and Aviation From the Earliest Days''. Richmond, VA: Virginia Aviation Historical Societ

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (3.8%) is water. Fairfax County is bounded on the north and southeast by the

. Across the river to the northeast is

, across the river to the north is Montgomery County, Maryland, and across the river to the southeast are Prince George's County, Maryland and

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Was ...

. The county is partially bounded on the north and east by

and the independent cities of

and Falls Church. It is bounded on the west by

, and on the south by

. Most of the county lies in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region, with rolling hills and deep stream valleys such as

Difficult Run Difficult Run is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 tributary stream of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia in the United States. The area has had many ...

and its tributaries. West of Route 28, the hills give way to a flat, gentle valley that stretches west to the

Bull Run Mountains The Bull Run Mountains are a mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia in the United States. Located approximately east of the main chain, across the Loudoun Valley. The Bull Run Mountains, together with Catoctin Mount ...

in Loudoun County. Elevations in the county range from near sea level along the tidal sections of the Potomac River in the southeast portion of the county to more than 500 feet (150 m) in the

area.

Adjacent jurisdictions

Geology

The Piedmont hills in the central county are made up of ancient

metamorphic rocks Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

such as

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

, the roots of several ancestral ranges of the Appalachians. The western valley is floored with more recent shale and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. This geology is similar to adjacent bands of rocks in

and further south in

along the eastern front of the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. An area of of the county is known to be underlain with natural asbestos. Much of the asbestos is known to emanate from fibrous

tremolite Tremolite is a member of the amphibole group of silicate minerals with composition: Ca2(Mg5.0-4.5Fe2+0.0-0.5)Si8O22(OH)2. Tremolite forms by metamorphism of sediments rich in dolomite and quartz. Tremolite forms a series with actinolite and fe ...

actinolite Actinolite is an amphibole silicate mineral with the chemical formula . Etymology The name ''actinolite'' is derived from the Greek word ''aktis'' (), meaning "beam" or "ray", because of the mineral's fibrous nature. Mineralogy Actinolite is ...

. The threat was discovered in 1987, prompting the county to establish laws to monitor air quality at construction sites, control soil taken from affected areas, and require freshly developed sites to lay of clean, stable material over the ground. For instance, during the construction of Centreville High School a large amount of asbestos-laden soil was removed and then trucked to Vienna for the construction of the I-66/Nutley Street interchange. Fill dirt then had to be trucked in to make the site level.

Marine clay Marine clay is a type of clay found in coastal regions around the world. In the northern, deglaciated regions, it can sometimes be quick clay, which is notorious for being involved in landslides. Marine clay is a particle of soil that is dedica ...

s can be found in widespread areas of the county east of Interstate 95, mostly in the Lee and Mount Vernon districts. These clays contribute to soil instability, leading to significant construction challenges for builders.

Government and politics

Fairfax County uses the urban county executive form of government, which county voters approved in a 1966 referendum. Under the urban county executive plan, the county is governed by the 10-member

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, sometimes abbreviated as FCBOS, is the governing body of Fairfax County; a county of over a million in Northern Virginia. The board has nine districts, and one at-large district which is always occupied by t ...

with the day-to-day running of the county tasked to the appointed Fairfax County executive. Nine of the board members are elected from the single-member districts of Braddock, Dranesville, Franconia, Hunter Mill, Mason, Mount Vernon, Providence, Springfield, and Sully, while the chairman is elected at-large. In addition to the Board of Supervisors, three constitutional officers—the

commonwealth's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

, clerk of the Circuit Court and sheriff—and the 12 members of the

Fairfax County School Board The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headqu ...

are directly elected by the voters of Fairfax County. The

Fairfax County Government Center The Fairfax County Government Center is the headquarters for the Fairfax County, Virginia local government. Located west of the City of Fairfax in an unincorporated area of the county, it is the meeting place of the Fairfax County Board of Superv ...

is west of the City of Fairfax in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

. Fairfax County contains an exclave

in the City of Fairfax's central business district, where many county facilities (including the courthouses and jail) are. Fairfax County was once considered a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

bastion, but in recent years Democrats have made significant inroads, gaining control of the Board of Supervisors and the School Board (officially nonpartisan) as well as the offices of sheriff and Commonwealth attorney. Democrats also hold all the Fairfax seats in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

and every seat in the Senate. Fairfax County encompasses parts of three

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

, the 8th District, the 10th District, and the 11th District. Democrats represent all three districts, with

Jennifer Wexton Jennifer Lynn Wexton (née Tosini; born May 27, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the United States representative for Virginia's 10th congressional district since 2019. The district is anchored in the outer portion of Northe ...

representing the 10th,

Don Beyer Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (; born June 20, 1950) is an American businessman, diplomat, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his district is in the heart of Northern Virginia and in ...

representing the 8th, and

Gerry Connolly Gerald Edward Connolly (born March 30, 1950) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district, first elected in 2008. The district is anchored in Fairfax County, an affluent suburban coun ...

representing the 11th. Communities closer to Washington, D.C., generally favor Democrats by a larger margin than outlying communities. In elections in 2000, 2001, and 2005, Fairfax County supported Democrats for U.S. Senate and governor. In 2004, Democratic presidential nominee

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

won the county, becoming the first Democrat to do so since

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

in 1964 (the last time Democrats carried the state until

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

). Kerry defeated

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in the county, 53% to 46%. Democratic gubernatorial candidate

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...

carried Fairfax County with over 60% of the vote in 2005, helping him win 51.7% of the statewide vote. In 2006, U.S. Senate candidate

Jim Webb James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...

carried the county with 58.9% of the vote while winning the statewide election. In the state and local elections of November 2007, Fairfax Democrats picked up one seat in the House of Delegates, two seats in the Senate, and one seat on the Board of Supervisors, making their majority there 8–2. On November 4, 2008, Fairfax County continued its shift towards the Democrats, with

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and Mark Warner each garnering over 60% of the vote for president and U.S. Senate, respectively. Also, the Fairfax-anchored 11th District United States House of Representatives seat held by

Thomas M. Davis Thomas Milburn Davis III (born January 5, 1949) is an American lobbyist and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives who represented Virginia's 11th congressional district in Northern Virginia. Davis was considerin ...

for 14 years was won by

, the Democratic chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Braddock supervisor Sharon Bulova won a special election on February 3, 2009, to succeed Connolly as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, continuing a Democratic hold on the office that dates to 1995. Delegate David Marsden won a special election on January 12, 2010, to succeed

Ken Cuccinelli Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, h ...

in the 37th State Senate district. Fairfax County is now represented in the

Virginia State Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

by an all-Democratic delegation. In the

2010 congressional elections The 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama's first term. Republicans ended unified Democratic control of Congress and the presidency by winning a majority in the H ...

, Republican challenger

Keith Fimian Virginia's 11th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The district stretches from Herndon to Quantico, comprising most of Fairfax County, all of the City of Fairfax, as well as part of ea ...

nearly won the election for the 11th District seat, losing to Connolly by 981 votes out of over 225,000 cast (a margin of 0.4%). Jim Moran and Frank Wolf were reelected, 61%–37% and 63%–35%, respectively. In 2012, Fairfax County solidly backed Obama for reelection as president, as he nearly matched his 2008 performance, winning the county 59.6% to 39.1%. Former Governor

, running for the U.S. Senate in 2012, carried Fairfax County with 61% of the vote as part of his statewide victory. Representatives Connolly, Moran, and Wolf were also reelected. Although Republican governor

Bob McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convic ...

won Fairfax County with 51% of the vote in 2009, the Republican resurgence in Fairfax was short-lived. In the 2013 election, Democratic gubernatorial candidate

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

won Fairfax County with 58% of the vote, defeating incumbent state attorney general and former Republican state senator from Fairfax

. McAuliffe's running mates,

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and

Mark Herring Mark Rankin Herring (born September 25, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Attorney General of Virginia from 2014 to 2022. A Democrat, he previously served in the Senate of Virginia since a 2006 special election, ...

, also carried Fairfax County in their respective bids for lieutenant governor and attorney general. These Democratic victories mirrored the Democratic ticket's sweep of the state's three executive offices for the first time since 1989. In the 2016 general election, Fairfax continued its trend towards Democratic candidates. Representatives Beyer and Connolly were reelected, the latter unopposed. Fairfax County supported

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

for president with 64.4% of the vote to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's 28.6%, exemplifying a heavy swing toward Democrats across Northern Virginia. In 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden won the county with 69.89% of the vote, the best percentage for a Democrat in the county since 1916.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010 census

As of 2010, there were 1,081,726 people, 350,714 households, and 250,409 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,455 people per square mile (948/km²). There were 359,411 housing units at an average density of 910 per square mile (351/km²). The ethnic makeup of the county was: The largest ancestry groups were: In 2000, there were 350,714 households, of which 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.40% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.20. The age distribution was 25.40% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 33.90% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from 45 to 64, and 7.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $81,050, and the median income for a family was $92,146; in a 2007 estimate, these figures rose to $102,460 and $120,804, respectively. Males had a median income of $60,503 versus $41,802 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $36,888. About 3.00% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 5.20% of those under age 18 and 4.00% of those age 65 or over. A more recent report from the 2007 American Community Survey indicated that poverty in Fairfax County, Virginia had risen to 4.9%. Judged by household median income, Fairfax County is among the highest-income counties in the country, and was first on that list for many years. In the 2000 census, it was overtaken by

Douglas County, Colorado Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 357,978. The county seat is Castle Rock. Douglas County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado, metropolitan statistica ...

. According to 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it had the second-highest median household income behind neighboring Loudoun County, at $94,610. In 2007, Fairfax County reclaimed its position as the richest county in America, in addition to becoming the first county in American history to have a median household income over $100,000, though not the first jurisdiction.
United Way of the National Capital Area – Fairfax/Falls Church Retrieved September 26, 2010 In 2008, Loudoun County reclaimed the top position, with Fairfax County a statistically insignificant second. In 2012, Fairfax County's median household income was $108,439. Fairfax County males have the highest life expectancy in the nation at 81.1 years, while females had the eighth-highest at 83.8.

Education

The county is served by the

Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headq ...

system, to which the county government allocates 52.2% of its budget. Including state and federal government contributions, along with citizen and corporate contributions, this brings the 2008 budget for the school system to $2.2 billion. The school system has estimated that, based on the 2008 fiscal year budget, the county will be spending $13,407 on each student. The Fairfax County Public School system contains the

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, TJ, or Jefferson) is a Virginia state-chartered magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools. The school occupies the buil ...

, a Virginia Governor's School. TJHSST consistently ranks at or near the top of all U.S. high schools due to the extraordinary number of National Merit Semifinalists and finalists, its students' high average SAT scores, and the number of students who annually perform nationally recognized research in the sciences and engineering. As a Governor's School, TJHSST draws students not only from Fairfax County, but also from Arlington,

Loudoun Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses the ...

, Fauquier, and

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

counties, and the City of Falls Church. Fairfax County is also home to many Catholic elementary and middle schools. The schools fall under the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington The Diocese of Arlington ( la, Dioecesis Arlingtonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Diocese of Arlington comprises 70 parishes across 21 counties and se ...

. The Oakcrest School is a Catholic school in Fairfax County, which is not run by the diocese.

Paul VI Catholic High School St. Paul VI Catholic High School (known as PVI or Paul VI) is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school in Chantilly, Virginia, United States. The school was previously located in southwest Fairfax, Virginia and is named after Pope Paul VI. In ...

is Fairfax County's diocese-run Catholic high school. George Mason University is just outside the city of Fairfax, near the geographic center of Fairfax County.

Northern Virginia Community College Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC; informally known as NOVA) is a public community college composed of six campuses and four centers in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia Community College is the third-la ...

(NVCC) serves Fairfax County with campuses in Annandale and Springfield and a center in Reston that is a satellite branch of the Loudoun campus. The NVCC

campus borders Fairfax County. The

University of Fairfax The University of Fairfax is an institution of higher education headquartered in Salem, Virginia. It offers online graduate degrees (Masters and Doctorates) in cybersecurity, cloud computing, computer science and engineering, and business as we ...

is also headquartered in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, and 22182), bordered approx ...

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

recently constructed a medical campus wing at

Inova Fairfax Hospital Inova Fairfax Medical Campus is the largest hospital campus in Northern Virginia and the flagship hospital of Inova Health System. Located in Woodburn in Fairfax County, Virginia, Inova Fairfax Hospital is one of the largest employers in the co ...

in order to allow third- and fourth-year medical students to study at other state-of-the-art facilities in the

region.

Economy

Fairfax County's economy revolves around professional services and technology. Many residents work for the government or contractors of the federal government. The government is the largest employer, with

in southern Fairfax the county's single largest source of federal employment. Fairfax County has a gross county product of about $95 billion. Fairfax County also is home to major employers such as

Volkswagen Group of America Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Volkswagen of America, abbreviated to VWoA), is the North American operational headquarters, and subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group of automobile companies of Germany. VWoA is responsi ...

, Hilton Worldwide, DXC Technology (formerly

Computer Sciences Corporation Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) was an American multinational corporation that provided information technology (IT) services and professional services. On April 3, 2017, it merged with the Enterprise Services line of business of HP Ente ...

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC),

Leidos Leidos, formerly known as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), is an American defense company, defense, Aerospace manufacturer, aviation, information technology (Lockheed Martin IS&GS), and biomedical research company headquart ...

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...

, Gannett,

Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in McLean, Virginia with operations primarily in the United States. It is on the li ...

, General Dynamics,

ICF International ICF International, Inc. is a Reston, Virginia-based global consulting and technology services company, which provides a range of services for governments and businesses, including strategic planning, management, marketing and analytics. The compa ...

Freddie Mac The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is a publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.Sallie Mae,

ManTech International ManTech International Corporation is an American defense contracting firm that was co-founded in 1968 by Franc Wertheimer and George J. Pedersen. The company uses technology to help government and industry clients. The company name "ManTech" is ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, NII and NVR. The county is home to seven ''Fortune'' 500 company headquarters, 11

Hispanic 500 The HispanicBusiness 500 was a directory published by HispanTelligence of the 500 largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic-owned business in the United States. The list was published for 31 years, ending at 2013. To be included in the list, a ...

companies, and five companies on the Black Enterprise 500 list. The county's economy is supported by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, which provides services and information to promote Fairfax County as a leading business and technology center. The FCEDA is the nation's largest non-state economic development authority. Fairfax County is also home to the Northern Virginia Technology Council, a trade association for local technology companies. It is the nation's largest technology council, with technology industry figures such as

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

and

Meg Whitman Margaret Cushing Whitman (born August 4, 1956) is the US ambassador to Kenya, an American business executive and former gubernatorial candidate for California. She is a board member of Procter & Gamble and General Motors. Whitman was previously ...

speaking at various local banquets. Fairfax County has a higher concentration of high-tech workers than

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

Tysons

The Tysons CDP of Fairfax County is Virginia's largest office market and the nation's largest suburban business district, with of office space. It is the country's 12th-largest business district and is expected to grow substantially in the coming decades. It contains a quarter of the county's total office space inventory, which was at year-end 2006, about the size of Lower Manhattan.

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

wrote that the area is "often described as the place where the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

was invented, but today it looks increasingly like the center of the global military-industrial complex", because it is home to the nation's first

ISPs An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

(many now defunct) and attracts numerous

defense contractor The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and se ...

s that have relocated from other states to or near Tysons Corner. Every weekday, Tysons draws over 100,000 workers from around the region. It also draws 55,000 shoppers every weekday, as it is home to neighboring

super-regional mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to ref ...

and

Tysons Galleria Tysons Galleria is a three-level super-regional mall owned by Brookfield Properties located at 2001 International Drive in Tysons, Virginia. It is the second-largest mall in Tysons, and one of the largest in the Washington metropolitan area. Hi ...

. In comparison, Washington, D.C., draws 15 million visitors annually, or the equivalent of 62,500 per weekday. After years of stalling and controversy, the $5.2 billion expansion of the Washington Metro Silver Line in Virginia from Washington, D.C., to

Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and F ...

was funded by the

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

in December 2008. The Silver Line added four stations in Tysons, including a station between Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria. Along with the expansion of Washington Metro, Fairfax County government has a plan to "urbanize" the Tysons area. The plan calls for a private-public partnership and a grid-like street system to make Tysons a more urban environment, tripling available housing to allow more workers to live near their workplaces. The goal is to have 95% of Tysons Corner within of a metro station.

Employment

Fairfax County's average weekly wage during the first quarter of 2005 was $1,181, 52% more than the national average. By comparison, the average weekly wage was $1,286 for Arlington—the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

's highest—$1,277 for Washington, D.C., and $775 for the U.S. as a whole. The types of jobs available in the area make it very attractive to highly educated workers. The relatively high wages may be partially due to the area's high cost of living. CIA New HQ Entrance

In early 2005, Fairfax County had 553,107 total jobs, up from 372,792 in 1990. In the area, this is second to Washington's 658,505 jobs in 2005 (down from 668,532 in 1990). As of the 2002 Economic Census, Fairfax County has the largest professional, scientific, and technical service sector in the Washington, D.C., area—in terms of the number of business establishments; total sales, shipments, and receipts; payrolls; and number of employees—exceeding the next-largest, Washington, D.C., by roughly a quarter overall, and double that of neighboring Montgomery County. The headquarters of the

(CIA) are in Langley, on Fairfax County's northeastern border.

Top employers

According to the county's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the county's largest employers are:

Arts and culture

Annual festivals include the "Celebrate Fairfax!" festival held in June at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax City, the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival held in May at the Reston Town Center in Reston, and the International Children's Festival held in September at the

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax Count ...

, which features a performing arts center outside Vienna. Fairfax County supports a summer concert series held in multiple venues throughout the county on various nights. The concert series are called Arts in the Parks, Braddock Nights, Lee District Nights, Mt. Vernon Nights, Nottoway Nights, Spotlight by Starlight, Sounds of Summer and Starlight Cinema.

EagleBank Arena EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C. Opened in 1985, it is the home of Patr ...

(originally the Patriot Center), on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University just outside the City of Fairfax, hosts concerts and shows. The nearby Center for the Arts at George Mason is a major year-round arts venue, and the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia includes studios for artists, event facilities for performing groups, and gallery exhibitions in addition to hosting the annual Clifton Film Festival. Smaller local art venues include: *Alden Theater at the McLean Community Center *ArtSpace Herndon *Center Stage at the Reston Community Center *Greater Reston Arts Center *James Lee Community Center Theater *Vienna Arts Society

Transportation

Roads

Several major highways run through Fairfax County, including the

Capital Beltway The Capital Beltway is a Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase " inside ...

(Interstate 495),

Interstate 66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washing ...

, Interstate 95, and Interstate 395. The American Legion Bridge connects Fairfax to Montgomery County, Maryland. The

George Washington Memorial Parkway The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maintained by the National Park Service ( ...

, Dulles Toll Road, and

Fairfax County Parkway The Fairfax County Parkway, numbered State Route 286 (SR 286, formerly SR 7100), is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia, acting as an arterial route in Fairfax County with a mix of interchanges and signalized an ...

are also major arteries. Other notable roads include Braddock Road, Old Keene Mill Road,

Little River Turnpike State Route 236 (SR 236) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 29 and US 50 in Fairfax east to SR 400 in Alexandria. SR 236 is a major suburban arterial highway that connects the inde ...

, State Routes 7, 28, and 123, and U.S. Routes 1, 29, and 50. The county is in the Washington, D.C., metro area, the nation's third most congested area.

Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, is the third worst congested traffic area in the nation, in terms of percentage of congested roadways and time spent in traffic. Of the lane miles in the region, 44 percent are rated "F" or worst for congestion. Northern Virginia residents spend an average of 46 hours a year stuck in traffic.

Major highways

Air

Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fa ...

lies partly within Fairfax County and provides most air service to the county. Fairfax is also served by two other airports in the Washington area,

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

and

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Interna ...

Manassas Regional Airport Manassas Regional Airport (Harry P. Davis Field) is five miles southwest of the center of Manassas. Manassas Regional Airport is the largest regional airport in Virginia, and it is located from Washington, D.C. History An airport for Manassas ...

, in neighboring

, is also used for regional cargo and private jet service. From 1945 to 1961, the eastern part of Fairfax County hosted Falls Church Airpark, an airfield primarily used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and civil defense purposes until encroaching residential development forced its closure.Bredemeler, Brandon (November 9, 1970) "At 95 Former Va. Realtor Still Donates to Build Park" ''The Washington Post'', page C1 The area the airport occupied is now mainly used as a shopping center, with the western end of the complex occupied by the Thomas Jefferson branch of the

Fairfax County Public Library The Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) is a public library system headquartered in Suite 324 of The Fairfax County Government Center in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Hennen's American Public Library Ratings ...

system. Parts of several apartment complexes are also on some of the airport's former grounds.

Public transportation

Fairfax County has multiple public transportation services, including the Washington Metro's

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

, and

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

lines. The Silver line, which runs through the Tysons, Reston, and Herndon areas of the county, opened in 2014, later extended in 2022, as the first new Washington Metro line since the Green Line opened in 1991. In addition, the VRE (Virginia Railway Express) provides commuter rail service to

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

in Washington, D.C., with stations in Fairfax County. The VRE's Fairfax County stations are Lorton and Franconia/Springfield on the Fredericksburg line, and Burke Centre,

Rolling Road Maryland Route 166 (MD 166) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from Interstate 195 (I-195) in Arbutus north to MD 144 in Catonsville. MD 166 consists of two sections: a short freeway section that serves ...

, and Backlick Road on the Manassas line. Fairfax County contracts its bus service, the

Fairfax Connector Fairfax Connector is a public bus service provided by Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and is managed by the county government. The bus system provides service within Fairfax County, and connects to Metrobus, Metrorail stations, Virginia ...

, to

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of ...

. The county is also served by

WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

's Metrobus service.

Parks and recreation

The county has many protected areas, a total of over 390 county parks on more than . The

Fairfax County Park Authority The Fairfax County Park Authority is a department of the Fairfax County, Virginia county government responsible for developing and maintaining the various parks, historical sites, and recreational areas owned or administered by Fairfax County. Figu ...

maintains parks and recreation centers through the county. There are also two national protected areas that are inside the county at least in part, including the

Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in Virginia. It is part of the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It is on Mason Neck, a peninsula in the Potomac Ri ...

, the

, and

. The

Mason Neck State Park Mason Neck State Park is located in Fairfax County, Virginia. The park is on a peninsula formed by Pohick Bay on the north, Belmont Bay on the south and the Potomac River to the east. The park has an area of and is home to bald eagles, great ...

is also in Lorton. Fairfax County is a member of the

Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority NOVA Parks (formerly named Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) is an inter-jurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites ...

. The Reston Zoo is in Reston, Virginia. The National Zoo is nearby in Washington, D.C.

Trails

The county maintains many miles of bike trails running through parks, adjacent to roads and through towns such as Vienna and Herndon. The Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail runs through Fairfax County, offering one of the region's best, and safest, routes for recreational walking and biking. In addition, nine miles (14 km) of the

Mount Vernon Trail The Mount Vernon Trail (MVT) is a long shared use path that travels along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Northern Virginia between Rosslyn and George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The trail connects the easternmost portions of ...

runs through Fairfax County along the Potomac River. Compared to other regions of the Washington area, Fairfax County has a dearth of designated

bike lanes Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...

for cyclists wishing to commute in the region. On May 16, 2008,

Bike-to-Work Day Bike to Work Day is an annual event that promotes the bicycle as an option for commuting to work (bicycle commuting). It is held in the Spring in a variety of locations including the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Bike Week is the week t ...

, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation released the first countywide bicycle route map. The Fairfax Cross County Trail runs from Great Falls National Park in the county's northern end to Occoquan Regional Park in the southern end. Consisting of mostly dirt paths and short asphalt sections, the trail is used mostly by recreational mountain bikers, hikers, and horse riders.

Communities

Fairfax County Virginia Incorporated and Unincorporated Areas

Three incorporated towns, Clifton, Herndon, and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, are entirely within Fairfax County. The independent cities of Falls Church and Fairfax were formed out of areas formerly under Fairfax County's jurisdiction, but are politically separate. Nevertheless, the Postal Service has long considered several portions of Fairfax County to be unincorporated Falls Church and Fairfax City. Several portions of the county also have

mailing addresses; many locals refer to these neighborhoods collectively as "South Alexandria", "Lower Alexandria", or "Alexandria, Fairfax County". "South Alexandria" communities include Hollin Hills, Franconia, Groveton, Hybla Valley, Huntington, Belle Haven, Mount Vernon, Fort Hunt, Engleside, Burgundy Village, Waynewood, Wilton Woods, Rose Hill, Virginia Hills, Hayfield, and Kingstowne. It has been proposed to convert the entire county into a single independent city, primarily to gain more control over taxes and roads. The most recent such proposal was made on June 30, 2009. Other communities in Fairfax County are unincorporated areas. Virginia law dictates that no unincorporated area of a county may be incorporated as a separate town or city following the adoption of the urban county executive form of government. Fairfax County adopted the urban county executive form of government in 1966. As of the 2000 census, Fairfax County's 13 largest communities are all unincorporated CDPs, the largest of which are Centreville, Reston, and

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...

, each with a population over 45,000. (The largest incorporated place in the county is Herndon, its 14th-largest community.)

Census-designated places

The following localities within Fairfax County are identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as (

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

)

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

s: * Annandale * Bailey's Crossroads * Belle Haven * Braddock * Bull Run *

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

* Burke Centre * Centreville *

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

* Crosspointe *

* Dranesville * Dunn Loring * Fair Lakes * Fair Oaks *

Fairfax Station Fairfax Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 12,030 at the 2010 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is located southwest of Washington, D.C. Geography Fairfax St ...

* Floris *

Fort Hunt Fort Hunt is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The area is named after Fort Hunt, which was built on the bank of the Potomac River in 1897 to defend Washington, D.C. from naval attack and is now a public ...

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

* Franklin Farm *

* Great Falls * Great Falls Crossing * Greenbriar * Groveton * Hayfield * Huntington * Hutchison * Hybla Valley * Idylwood * Kings Park * Kings Park West * Kingstowne * Lake Barcroft * Laurel Hill * Lincolnia * Long Branch * Lorton *

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

* Mason Neck *

* McNair * Merrifield *

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

* Newington * Newington Forest * North Springfield * Oakton * Pimmit Hills *

Ravensworth Ravensworth is a village and civil parish in the Holmedale valley, within the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Richmond and from Darlington. The parish has a population of 255, accordin ...

* Reston * Rose Hill * Seven Corners * South Run * Springfield * Sully Square * Tysons * Union Mill *

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

* West Falls Church * West Springfield * Wolf Trap * Woodburn * Woodlawn

Other unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on 2020 United States Census Bureau data. † ''county seat''

Notable people

Sister cities

Fairfax County's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

are: * Songpa (Seoul), South Korea (2009) * Harbin, China (2009) * Keçiören (Ankara), Turkey (2012)

Notes

External links

;Official Fairfax County sites
Fairfax County Government website

Fairfax County Public Schools

Fairfax County Public Library System

Property lookup database
from the Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration ;Other websites *
Festival information
for Celebrate Fairfax!
Fairfax County Economic Development Authority

Tourism information
from the Fairfax County Convention and Visitors Corporation * * {{Authority control Virginia counties Northern Virginia counties Virginia counties on the Potomac River Washington metropolitan area Populated places established in 1742 1742 establishments in Virginia Majority-minority counties and independent cities in Virginia

History

Geography

Adjacent jurisdictions

Geology

Government and politics

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

Education

Economy

Tysons

Employment

Top employers

Arts and culture

Transportation

Roads

Major highways

Air

Public transportation

Parks and recreation

Trails

Communities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Population ranking

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

Notes

External links