Vienna, Virginia

Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, and 22182) bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to the north, and Hunter Mill road.

In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Vienna fourth on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States. In addition to highly ranked public schools, its assets include a downtown with many small businesses, a Washington Metrorail station with large parking garages (the western terminus of the Orange Line) just south of the town, and a portion of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park hiker/biker trail cutting through the center of the town. Tysons Corner is nearby, as is Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

History
The town was originally called Ayr Hill, after the name of the house built by early settler John Hunter, who named it after the place of his birth, Ayr, in Scotland. The name of the town was changed in the 1850s, when a doctor named William Hendrick offered to move there if the town would rename itself after his hometown, Vienna, New York, which in turn is named after Vienna, Austria.

On June 17, 1861, four companies of Union troops led by Brigadier General Robert C. Schenck were approaching Vienna from the East by train, when they were ambushed by Confederate troops supported by an artillery battery. The Union forces scattered into the woods, and the locomotive made a hasty retreat. Eight Union soldiers were killed and several were wounded.

The First Baptist Church of Vienna was founded in 1867, and the original church structure was built using Union Army barracks lumber obtained through the Freedman's Bureau. This church building was also the town's first black public school. The first white public school was built in 1872. A permanent black elementary school was built, which was later named for its long-time principal, Louise Archer. Fairfax County Schools were completely desegregated by the Fall of 1965.

Vienna was the home of Robert Hanssen, the location where he exchanged many secrets for Russian diamonds, and the place where he was arrested.

Geography
Vienna is located at °N, °W (38.8991, -77.2607) at an elevation of 358 feet (109 m). It lies in the Piedmont approximately 5.5 mi southwest of the Potomac River. Wolftrap Creek, a tributary of nearby Difficult Run, flows north from its source in the eastern part of town. The Bear Branch of Accotink Creek, a Potomac tributary, flows south from its source in the southern part of town. Located in Northern Virginia on Interstate 66, Vienna is 12 mi west of Washington, D.C. and 2 mi northeast of Fairfax, the county seat.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.5 km²), all of it land. As a suburb of Washington, D.C., Vienna is a part of both the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area and the larger Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. It is bordered on all sides by other Washington suburbs, including: Wolf Trap to the north, Tysons Corner to the northeast, Dunn Loring to the east, Merrifield to the south, and Oakton to the west. These communities are unincorporated, and portions of them lie in ZIP codes with Vienna postal addresses despite lying outside the town's borders.

Climate
Vienna has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by hot, humid summers and cool winters. The average temperature in Vienna is 54.5 °F (12.5 °C). Over the course of a year, temperatures range from an average low of 24 °F in January to an average high of 89 °F in July. The high temperature reaches or exceeds 90 °F an average of 31.9 days a year and reaches or exceeds 100 °F an average of 0.8 days a year. The minimum temperature falls below the freezing point 32 °F an average of 96.0 days a year. Typically, the first fall freeze occurs between the last week of October and the second week of November, and the last spring freeze occurs between the last week of March and the third week of April. Vienna receives 45 in of precipitation during an average year, receiving between 3 in and 4.4 in per month year round. During a typical year, the total amount of precipitation may be anywhere from 34 in to 58 in. There are, on average, 121 days of measurable precipitation each year. Annual snowfall averages 19 in, but the median is 9 in. Measurable snowfall occurs an average of eight days a year with at least an inch of snow being received on five of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch occurs an average of 18 days a year. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and May is the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Vienna was 105 °F (41 °C) in 1997; the coldest temperature recorded was -11 °F (-24 °C) in 1985.

Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 15,687 people, 5,528 households, and 4,215 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,565.2 per square mile (1,376.5/km²). There were 5,686 housing units at an average density of 1,292.3 per square mile (494.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 75.5% White, 12.1% Asian, 3.2% African American, 0.3% Native American, 5.3% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.0% of the population.

There were 5,528 households out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% were married couples living together, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84, and the average family size was 3.19.

In the town, the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.

As of 2009, the median income for a household in the town was $113,817, and the median income for a family was $124,895. Males had a median income of $88,355 versus $66,642 for females. The per capita income for the town was $49,544. About 3.7% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Primary and secondary schools
The town is served by Fairfax County Public Schools.

Fairfax County has been perennially rated one of the best public school systems in the country. Vienna is home to two high schools (Oakton and Madison), two middle schools, and six elementary schools. However, of all the schools Vienna students attend, only four elementary schools: Cunningham Park Elementary School, Marshall Road Elementary School, Louise Archer Elementary School, and Vienna Elementary School are actually located in the official town limits.

The music program at James Madison High School includes a marching band, "The Pride of Vienna", and color guard, two symphonic bands, jazz band, orchestra, and chorus. The Crew team at James Madison has won many awards. The novice team had won states three years in a row In addition, the Women's Junior Eight of 2010 won second in the nation as well as Virginia States. Their Team sent all their boats but two, to the nationals in Saratoga. The JMHS Crew team has won more State titles in the year 2010 than the Baseball team has ever won, making crew the most successful sport at James Madison High School. Their Varsity Baseball team has won 18 District titles, 5 Region titles, and 3 State titles (1968, 1971, 2002), led by Coach Tom Christie's 8-year run which produced 11 of the 26 titles (6 district/3 region/2 state). A water tower stating "Home of the Warhawks" can be seen towering over the school. Thoreau Middle School shares a class with Joyce Kilmer Middle School (also located in Vienna) and Longfellow Middle School (located in Falls Church). Kilmer had accelerated programs for students that have passed certain aptitude tests, known as the Gifted and Talented (GT) program. This program has also been introduced into Luther Jackson Middle School. Kilmer also has a band and orchestra program, and recently started up a Science Olympiad and Chess Club program. Close to Madison sit the six elementary schools: Flint Hill Elementary (not to be confused with Flint Hill School, a private school in neighboring Oakton, Virginia), Louise Archer (which also has an AP program), Marshall Road, Vienna Elementary, Wolftrap, and Cunningham Park. Each of these schools send graduates into Thoreau, Kilmer, Luther Jackson Middle School or Longfellow, and afterwards James Madison High School, Oakton High School (just outside Vienna on the border with Oakton, with a Vienna address), George C. Marshall High School (in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County), Falls Church High School (just outside Vienna in Merrifield) or McLean High School. Freedom Hill Elementary, which recently started a Gifted and Talented program, sends graduates to Kilmer, and afterward to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology or Marshall High School. Residents of Vienna that live along the town's border with Great Falls, VA also send graduates into Langley High School via Cooper Middle School. Because of the large influx of new residents in the last decade, the classes of '09, '10, and '11 at these regional high schools are expected to be the largest over the next ten years.

Public libraries
Fairfax County Public Library operates the Patrick Henry Library in Vienna.

Economy
MAE-East is located within the Vienna postal area in Tysons Corner CDP. This served as one of two locations (in addition to MAE-West) where all Internet traffic was exchanged between one ISP and other private, government, and academic Internet networks and served as a magnet for telecom and other high-tech companies focused on the Internet. In 1995 America Online (AOL) was headquartered at 8619 Westwood Center Drive in Tysons Corner CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, near Vienna.

Top employers
According to the Town's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Notable residents

 * Alex Albrecht, host of Digg.com's popular podcast Diggnation, along with Kevin Rose
 * Alketas Panagoulias, a Greek, former association football player and manager. He managed the national teams of both Greece and the United States.
 * David Baldacci, popular author
 * Sandra Beasley, poet
 * Reva Beck Bosone, former member of the United States House of Representatives
 * Gordon L. Brady, economist and writer
 * Steve Buckhantz, Washington Wizards play-by-play announcer
 * Ian Caldwell, author
 * Thomas M. Davis, former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives
 * Trevor N. Dupuy, United States Army colonel and noted historian
 * Billy Lee Evans, former member of the United States House of Representatives
 * Kyle Foggo, former American government intelligence officer convicted of bribery
 * Hrach Gregorian, political consultant, educator, and writer
 * Katherine Hadford, figure skater
 * Robert Hanssen, Federal Bureau of Investigation agent arrested for espionage in 2001.
 * Mark Keam, member of the Virginia House of Delegates
 * David Kellermann, former CFO of Freddie Mac
 * Michael McCrary, retired National Football League player
 * Robert M. McDowell, commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission
 * Heather Mercer, Christian missionary held captive in Afghanistan in 2001
 * John Myung, professional poker player
 * Héctor Andrés Negroni, first Puerto Rican graduate of the United States Air Force Academy
 * Alfred D. Sieminski, represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district from 1951-1959.
 * Nick Sorensen, American football player for the Cleveland Browns
 * Edwin Winans, United States Army general
 * Frank Wolf, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives

Points of interest

 * Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
 * The Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection
 * Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts