Report: Loudoun County’s income growth drives D.C.-area’s economy

WASHINGTON — A Northern Virginia county is driving the area’s economy, according to a new report — a week after it was named one of the best counties in the United States.

The Mount Vernon Gazette reports that per capita income in Loudoun County rose from $52,000 in 2008 to $60,000 in 2012, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s by far the biggest increase in Northern Virginia and more than five times the rate for Fairfax County and Alexandria.

The county’s population has doubled in the last 15 years and annual household income is about $120,000, the report says.

Last week, a California-based Internet realtor named Loudoun County as the best county in the nation.

Hamilton Lombard, research specialist for the Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, told the Mount Vernon Gazette that an influx of young people, including families without children, is one factor driving the county’s growth.

He says what’s going on is “kind of a transformation from being a bedroom community into actually having lots of job centers there and having lots of younger people going there before they start families.”

There’s also been a rush if mixed-use construction, with residences, shopping and offices, that draws younger workers.

Related Stories:

Follow @WTOP and @WTOPliving on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up