Everything about Fairfax County totally explained
Fairfax County is a
county in
Northern Virginia, in the
United States. As of January 2007, the estimated population of the county is 1,077,000, making it by far the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the most populous jurisdiction in the
Greater Washington Area and has the highest median household income ($100,318, the first to reach six figures) of any county in the United States, recently surpassing its neighbor,
Loudoun County.
History
Fairfax County was formed in 1742 from the northern part of
Prince William County. It was named for
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1693–1781), proprietor of the
Northern Neck.
The oldest settlements in Fairfax County were located along the
Potomac River.
George Washington settled in Fairfax County and built his home,
Mount Vernon facing the river.
Gunston Hall, the home of
George Mason is located nearby. Modern
Fort Belvoir is partly located on the estate of Belvoir Manor, built along the Potomac by William Fairfax in 1741.
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the only member of the British nobility ever to reside in the colonies, lived at Belvoir before he moved to the
Shenandoah Valley. The Belvoir mansion and several of its outbuildings were destroyed by fire immediately after the
Revolutionary War in 1783, and George Washington noted the plantation complex gradually deteriorated into ruins.
In 1757, the northwestern two-thirds of Fairfax County became
Loudoun County. In 1789, part of Fairfax County was ceded to the federal government to form
Alexandria County of the
District of Columbia. Alexandria County was returned to Virginia in 1846, reduced in size by the secession of the
independent city of
Alexandria in 1870, and renamed
Arlington County 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.
Located near Washington, D.C., Fairfax County was an important region in the
Civil War. The
Battle of Chantilly or Ox Hill, during the same campaign as the
second Battle of Bull Run, was fought within the county; Bull Run straddles the border between Fairfax and Prince William County. For most of the Civil War,
Union troops occupied the county, though the population remained sympathetic to the
Confederacy.
The growth of the Federal Government in the years during and after World War II spurred rapid growth in the county. As a result, the once rural county began to become increasingly suburban. Other large businesses continued to settle in Fairfax County and the opening of
Tysons Corner Center spurred the rise of
Tysons Corner itself. The technology boom and a steady government-driven economy also created rapid growth and an increasingly growing and diverse population. The economy has also made Fairfax County one of the wealthiest counties in the nation.
Geography
Fairfax County is bounded on the north and southeast by the
Potomac River. Across the river to the northeast is
Washington, D.C., 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. The county is partially bounded on the north and east by
Arlington County and the independent cities of
Alexandria and
Falls Church. It is bounded on the west by
Loudoun County, and on the south by
Prince William County.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 407 square miles (1,053 km²), of which, 395 square miles (1,023 km²) of it's land and 12 square miles (30 km²) of it (2.85%) is water.
Major highways
Geology
Eleven square miles of the county are known to be underlain with natural
asbestos. Much of the asbestos is known to emanate from fibrous
tremolite or
actinolite. Approximately 20 years ago, when the threat was discovered, the county established 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-laded 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 clays can be also 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
Presidential elections results>
| Year |
Republican |
Democrat |
| 2004 |
45.9% 211,980 |
53.3% 245,671 |
| 2000 |
48.9% 202,181 |
47.5% 196,501 |
| 1996 |
48.2% 176,033 |
46.6% 170,150 |
| 1992 |
44.3% 170,488 |
41.6% 160,186 |
| 1988 |
61.1% 200,641 |
38.3 125,711 |
| 1984 |
62.9% 183,181 |
36.8 107,295 |
| 1980 |
57.4% 137,620 |
30.8% 73,734 |
| 1976 |
53.6% 110,424 |
44.7% 92,037 |
| 1972 |
66.3% 112,135 |
32.4% 54,844 |
| 1968 |
49.0% 57,462 |
38.2% 44,796 |
| 1964 |
38.7% 30,755 |
61.2% 48,680 |
| 1960 |
51.7% 26,064 |
48.1% 28,006 |
The county is divided into nine supervisor districts: Braddock, Dranesville, Hunter Mill, Lee, Mason, Mount Vernon, Providence, Springfield, and Sully.
The supervisor districts each elect one supervisor to the Board of Supervisors which governs Fairfax County. There is also a Chairman elected by the county at-large.
Fairfax County was once considered a strong
Republican bastion in the suburbs of
Washington, D.C. However,
Democrats have increasingly made inroads in Fairfax County in the past decade, having gained control of the Board of Supervisors and the School Board (which is officially nonpartisan) as well as the offices of
Sheriff and
Commonwealth Attorney. Democrats also control the majority of Fairfax seats in the
House of Delegates and
State Senate.
Republicans currently control two of the three congressional seats that include parts of Fairfax County. Communities closer to Washington, D.C. generally favor Democrats by a larger margin than the outlying communities. In 2000, 2001, and 2005, Fairfax County voted Democratic in the races for Senate and governor. In 2004,
John Kerry won the county; the first Democrat to do so since
Lyndon B. Johnson in his 1964 landslide (the last time Democrats carried the state). Kerry defeated Bush in the county 53% to 46%.
Democratic Governor
Tim Kaine carried Fairfax County with over 60% of the vote in 2005, leading him to win over 51% of votes statewide.
On
November 7,
2006, U.S. Senator
Jim Webb (D) carried the county with about 58.9% of the votes (from the Virginia Commonwealth site).
On
November 6,
2007, voters demonstrated Fairfax County's decidedly Democratic tilt once more. The Democratic Party picked up one seat in the
Virginia House of Delegates and two seats in the
Virginia State Senate from Fairfax County. Also, the Democrats were able to increase their majority on the Board of Supervisors to an 8-2 margin after defeating Republican Joan DuBois in the Dranesville district.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 969,749 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 racial makeup of the county was 72.91%
White, 8.83%
Black or
African American, 0.26%
Native American, 13.00%
Asian, 0.07%
Pacific Islander, 4.54% from
other races, and 3.65% from two or more races. 11.03% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. Like many of the most affluent areas of the United States in the 21st century, Fairfax County is home to people from diverse backgrounds with a significant number of Korean-Americans, Indian-Americans, Afghan-Americans, Iranian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Pakistani-Americans and Vietnamese-Americans along with other Americans of Asian descent. There is a sizeable Latino population primarily consisting of Salvadorans, Peruvians and Bolivians.
In 2000 there are 350,714 households, of which 36.30% have 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.
In the county, the population was spread out with 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. Males had a median income of $60,503 versus $41,802 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $36,888. About 3.00% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.20% of those under age 18 and 4.00% of those age 65 or over.
Judged by household median income, Fairfax County is the
richest county in the country and was many years. However, in the 2000 census it was overtaken by
Douglas County, Colorado. According to US Census Bureau estimates for 2005, it had the second-highest median household income behind neighboring Loudoun County, Va., at $94,610. In 2007 Fairfax County reclaimed its position as the richest county in America, in addition to becoming the first jurisdiction in American history to have a median household income in excess of $100,000, as stated by the U.S. Census Bureau's latest report. Including state and federal government contributions, along with citizen and corporate contributions, this brings the 2008 fiscal 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, a Virginia Governor's School. TJHSST consistently ranks at or near the top of all United States high schools due to the extraordinary number of National Merit Semi-Finalists and Finalists, the high average SAT scores of its students, and the number of students who annually perform nationally recognized research in the sciences and engineering.
George Mason University is located just outside
Fairfax City, near the geographic center of Fairfax County.
Northern Virginia Community College serves Fairfax County with campuses in
Annandale and
Springfield and a center in
Reston which is a satellite branch of the Loudoun campus.
Economy
The economy of Fairfax County is a robust service economy. Many residents work for the government or for contractors of the Federal Government. Defense contractors in particular are prominent. The government is the largest employer with
Fort Belvoir in southern Fairfax being the county's single largest employer.
The top 5 largest private employers are the
Inova Health System,
Northrop Grumman,
Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC (
Science Applications International Corporation) and
Freddie Mac. Fairfax County also is home to several large companies such as
Gannett,
Capital One,
General Dynamics, and
NVR. The county has seven
Fortune 500 company headquarters, more than the rest of Northern Virginia or the neighboring state of Maryland, and nearly as many as the state capital
Richmond.
Volkswagen of America announced in 2007 that it would relocate its corporate headquarters to Fairfax County from
Auburn Hills, Michigan.
The economy of the county is supported by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, which provides a wide array of services and information designed to promote Fairfax County as a leading business and technology center. The FCEDA also runs a capital attraction program to link entrepreneurs and start-up firms with venture capitalists and angel investors. Another program assists small, minority- and woman-owned businesses. The FCEDA has marketing offices in San Francisco, Bangalore, Frankfurt, London, Seoul and Tel Aviv.
Employment
The average weekly wage in Fairfax County during the first quarter of 2005 was $1,181. By comparison, the average weekly wage was $1,286 for
Arlington, $1,277 for
Washington, D.C., and $775 for the
United States as a whole exceeding the next largest, Washington, D.C., by roughly a quarter overall, and doubling neighboring Montgomery County.
Tysons Corner
Tysons Corner is Virginia's largest office market and one of the leading business centers in the nation with of office space. Tysons Corner is currently the country's 12th largest business district, and is expected to grow substantially in the years to come. The county's total office space inventory totaled at year-end 2006, which is about the size of
Lower Manhattan. Every weekday, Tysons Corner has over 100,000 workers from around the region and 50,000 shoppers from the region and throughout the state.
Tysons Corner Center and
Tysons Galleria are located here.
Transportation
Roads
Several major highways run through Fairfax County, including the
Capital Beltway (
Interstate 495),
Interstate 66,
Interstate 95, and
Interstate 395. The
American Legion Bridge connects Fairfax to Montgomery County, Maryland. The
George Washington Memorial Parkway,
Dulles Toll Road, and
Fairfax County Parkway are also major arteries. Other notable roads include
Braddock Road, Old Keene Mill Road,
Little River Turnpike, State Routes
7,
28, and
123, and US 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.
Air
Washington Dulles International Airport 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 and
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Manassas Regional Airport, in neighboring
Prince William County, is also used for regional cargo and private jet service.
Public transportation
Fairfax County contracts its bus service called the
Fairfax Connector to
Veolia Transportation. It is also served by
WMATA's metrobus service. Fairfax County is served by the
Washington Metro trains. The
Orange,
Blue,
Yellow and the planned
Silver lines all serve Fairfax County. In addition,
VRE (Virginia Railway Express) provides commuter rail service with stations in
Lorton and
Franconia-Springfield.
Biking and walking
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.
However, compared to other regions of the Washington area, Fairfax County has a dearth of designated
bike lanes for cyclists wishing to commute in the region. In fact, there's no known map of the county that directs cyclists to the best roads to traverse. A recent
VDOT report includes the lack of bike lanes or parallel residential streets to major thoroughfares as a major reason for low numbers of bicycle commuters in northern Virginia.
The
Fairfax Cross County Trail
runs from Great Falls National Park in the northern end of the county to Occoquan Regional Park in the southern end. Consisting of mostly dirt paths and short ashpahlt sections, this trail is used mostly by recreational mountain bikers, hikers, and horse riders.
Recreation
Parks
In addition to the
Fairfax County Park Authority, Fairfax County is part of the
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.
See also List of Virginia state parks
Zoos
The Reston Zoo is near Reston, Virginia, in Fairfax County.
See also List of Zoos in Virginia
Towns, independent cities, and other localities
Three incorporated towns, Clifton, Herndon, and Vienna, are located within Fairfax County.
The independent cities of Falls Church and Fairfax were formed out of areas formerly under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County, but are politically separate, despite the status of the City of Fairfax as county seat. Fairfax County contains an exclave located in the central business district of the City of Fairfax, in which many county facilities (including the courthouses and jail) are located.
Other communities within Fairfax County are unincorporated areas; Virginia law prohibits the creation of any new municipalities within any county with a population density of over 1,000 per square mile (which currently only affects Fairfax and Arlington Counties in Northern Virginia, and recently Henrico County outside Richmond). As of the 2000 census the thirteen largest communities of Fairfax County are all unincorporated CDPs, the largest of which are Burke, Reston, and Annandale, each with a population exceeding 50,000. (The largest incorporated place in the county is the town of Herndon, its fourteenth-largest community.)
Unincorporated Census Designated Places
The following localities within Fairfax County are identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as (unincorporated) Census-Designated Places:
Other localities
Famous people from Fairfax County
Infamous people from Fairfax County
Cho Seung-hui - shooter who perpetrated the Virginia Tech massacre
Robert Hanssen - American spy who sold secrets to the USSR and Russia.
See also
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department
Fairfax County Police DepartmentFurther Information
Get more info on 'Fairfax County'.
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