Located in Loudoun County, Ashburn, Virginia is a census-designated city that is 30 miles outside of Washington D.C. between Dulles International Airport in D.C. and Leesburg, Virginia, which is the county seat of Loudoun County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Ashburn has a total area of 17.287 square miles of which 0.262 square miles consists of water while the other 17.025 square miles is land.
Demographics
According to the 2010 census, Ashburn has a population totaling 43,511 citizens while the greater surrounding area has a population of 54,086 citizens. The population is an almost even split with 49% of residents being male and 51% being female with an average age of the entire population being 31.6 years old.
Because Ashburn is located within the Dulles Technology Corridor, 42% of the population have earned a B.A. and 18% have earned a Master’s degree. This high level of college education can be attributed in part to the tech boom going on in that part of Virginia, and it is a major factor in 80% of the population being homeowners of properties with a median value of $345,000.
Economy
Being part of the Dulles Technology Corridor has meant that many high-tech businesses have opened offices there. When Verizon Communications took control of MCI WorldCom in 2006, they took over MCI’s headquarters to house one of their major offices. Ashburn is also home to several government and military contractors. Chief among these is Telos, an information technology and cybersecurity firm that works closely with the United States Department of Defense.
Ashburn is also home to one of the corporate offices of Airbus, Inc., which was formerly known as the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company. They are a defense contractor helmed by Sean O’Keefe, a former NASA administrator. Other tech institutions affiliated with Ashburn are the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus and George Washington University’s Virginia Science and Technology Center as well as the Wikimedia Foundation’s primary data center.
Education
The Loudoun County Public School system oversees all the local public elementary and secondary schools, and there are several private schools that offer both a secular as well as a non-secular education. Ashburn is also home to Strayer as well as George Washington Universities. Additionally, George Mason University has announced in 2009 that they planned on opening a campus in Ashburn.
Sports and Entertainment
Ashburn is home to One Loudoun, a new multimillion-dollar entertainment, sports and residential development that has been planned to be the focal point of the new downtown area for Loudoun County. There are also ties to the National Football League, with the Washington Redskins housing their training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn.
Famous People and Places
Ashburn is the location of two residences on the National Register of Historic Places. These are the Belmont Manor House, notably used as a safe haven for President Madison during the War of 1812, and the Janelia Mansion, famed for being the home of artist Vinton Pickens and her husband, writer and Associated Press correspondent Robert Pickens. Ashburn was also where famed Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wilson Pickett lived at the end of his life.
Click here to learn more about Ridgeline Roofers
Click here to learn more about Alamo Drafthouse Cinema