Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County is a in , in the. As of 2005, the estimated population of the county is 1,041,200; making it by far the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and larger than seven. It is the most populous jurisdiction in the and has the highest median household income ($100,318 - first to reach six figures) of any county in the United States, recently surpassing its neighbor,.

History
Fairfax County was formed in 1742 from the northern part of. It was named for (1693-1781), proprietor of the.

The oldest settlements in Fairfax County were located along the. settled in Fairfax County and built his home, facing the river. , the home of is located nearby. Modern is partly located on the estate of Belvoir Manor, built along the Potomac by William Fairfax in 1741. Thomas Sixth Lord Fairfax, the only member of the British nobility ever to reside in the colonies, lived at Belvoir before he moved to the. The Belvoir mansion and several of its outbuildings were destroyed by fire immediately after the in, and George Washington noted the plantation complex gradually deteriorated into ruins.



In, the northwestern two-thirds of Fairfax County became. In 1789 part of Fairfax County was ceded to the federal government to form of the. Alexandria County was returned to Virginia in, reduced in size by the secession of the of  in 1870, and renamed  in 1920. The Fairfax County town of became an independent city in 1948. The Fairfax County town of became an independent city in 1961.

Located near Washington, D.C., Fairfax County was an important region in the. The or Ox Hill, during the same campaign as the, was fought within the county; Bull Run straddles the border between Fairfax and Prince William County. For most of the Civil War, troops occupied the county, though the population remained sympathetic to the.

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 spurred the rise of  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 and climate


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 , across the river to the southeast are and ; it is also partially bounded on the north and east by  and the independent cities of  and ; it is bound on the west by ; and on the south by  and the independent cities of  and.

According to the, the county has a total area of 1,053 (407 ). 1,023 km² (395 mi²) of it is land and 30 km² (12 mi²) of it (2.85%) is water.

Fairfax County lies in the humid subtropical climate zone. Distance from Washington, D.C. generally lowers the temperature, due to the urban heat island effect. The average January temperature is 43/23 °F (5.6/-5 °C). In winter, Arctic air can lower the nighttime low to the teens, and lows below 15 °F (-9.4 °C) are rare. Snow occurs every winter and frequently accumulates, however storm accumulations over 8" are relatively uncommon, occurring roughly once every two or three years. In addition, ice storms can occur but are rare. Occasionally, winds from the south can make winter temperatures milder. Spring is enjoyable and trees blossom brilliantly, but pollen counts are high. Summers are from warm to hot (greater than 80 °F), and thunderstorms are common. Fall brings dew in the morning and crisp air in the afternoon, with brilliant foliage in the county.

Major highways

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Asbestos
Eleven square miles of the county are known to be underlain with natural. Much of the asbestos is known to emanate from fibrous or. 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 6 inches of clean, stable material over the ground. For instance, during the construction of 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.

Government and politics
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 bastion in the suburbs of  However,  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  and. Democrats also control the majority of Fairfax seats in the and.

Republicans currently control two of the three congressional seats that include parts of Fairfax County. Communities closer to 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, won the county; the first Democrat to do so since  in his 1964 landslide (the last time Democrats carried the state). Kerry defeated Bush in the county 53% to 46%.

Democratic Governor carried Fairfax County with over 60% of the vote in 2005, leading him to win over 51% of votes statewide.

On, , U.S. Senator (D) carried the county with about 58.9% of the votes (from the Virginia Commonwealth site).

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 969,749 people, 350,714 households, and 250,409 families residing in the county. The was 948/km² (2,455/mi²). There were 359,411 housing units at an average density of 351/km² (910/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 72.91%, 8.83% or , 0.26% , 13.00% , 0.07% , 4.54% from , and 3.65% from two or more races. 11.03% of the population were or  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, 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 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 for the county was $36,888. About 3.00% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the, including 5.20% of those under age 18 and 4.00% of those age 65 or over.

Judged by household median income, Fairfax County was the for many years. However, in the 2000 census it was overtaken by. 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. 

In the  article "Negotiating Black Identities" sociologist Karyn Lacy compares Fairfax County to Prince George's County, MD to better understand "how contemporary middle-class Blacks are managing their lives in suburban spaces."

Education
The county is served by the system, to which the county government allocates 52.2% of its fiscal budget. 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, 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.

is located just outside, near the geographic center of Fairfax County. serves Fairfax County with campuses in and  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. Fairfax most heavily relies on the Federal Government. Many citizens work for the government or for contractors of the Federal Government. Defense contractors in particular are prominent. The government is the largest employer with in southern Fairfax being the county's single largest employer.

The top 5 largest private employers are the, , , SAIC and. Fairfax County also is home to several large companies such as, , , , and. The county has seven company headquarters, more than the rest of Northern Virginia or the neighboring state of Maryland, and nearly as many as the state capital.

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 Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Frankfurt, London, Seoul and Tel Aviv. 

Employment
The county has the highest average weekly wage of any other jurisdiction in the D.C. area at $1,574 in 2005. It is followed by ($1,471),, , and  ($1,205).

From 1990 to the first quarter of 2005, Fairfax County added more total private sector jobs in the Washington region than the next four jurisdictions (Washington,, , and ) combined. In early 2005, Fairfax had 553,107 total jobs, up from 372,792 in 1990, and 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, & 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 doubling neighboring Montgomery County.

Tysons Corner
is Virginia's largest office market and one of the leading business centers in the nation with 25.7 million square feet of office space. The county's total office space inventory totaled 105.2 million square feet at year-end 2006, which is about the size of. Tysons Corner has, every weekday, over 100,000 workers from around the region and 50,000 shoppers from the region and throughout the state.

Roads
Several major highways run through Fairfax County including the, , , and. The connects Fairfax to Montgomery County, Maryland. The, , and are also major arteries. Other notable roads include, Old Keene Mill Road, , State Routes , , and , and US Routes , , and.

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
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, and.

, in neighboring, is also used for regional cargo and private jet service.

Public transportation
Fairfax County contracts its bus service called the to. It is also served by 's metrobus service. Fairfax County is served by the trains. The, , and the planned  lines all serve Fairfax County. In addition, (Virginia Railway Express) provides commuter rail service with stations in  and.

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 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 for cyclists wishing to commute in the region. In fact, there is no known map of the county that directs cyclists to the best roads to traverse. A recent 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.

Towns, independent cities, and other localities
Three incorporated towns,, , and , are located within Fairfax County.

The of  and  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. Fairfax County contains an 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 s; Virginia law prohibits the creation of any new municipalities within any county with a of over 1,000 per square mile (which currently only affects Fairfax and  Counties in Northern Virginia, and recently  outside ). As of the the thirteen largest communities of Fairfax County are all unincorporated s, the largest of which are, , and , each with a population exceeding 50,000. (The largest incorporated place in the county is the town of, its fourteenth-largest community.)

Unincorporated Census Designated Places
The following localities within Fairfax County are identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as :

Infamous people from Fairfax County
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 * - shooter who perpetrated the
 * - American who sold secrets to the  and.
 * - American who sold secrets to the  and.

In popular culture

 * The  is set in the fictional town "Langley Falls". The town name is a composite of  (where the CIA is headquartered) and nearby, both of which are located in Fairfax County.