Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County is a county of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. As of 2002, the population was 991,000, making Fairfax the most populous county in the Commonwealth. It is also the most populous jurisdiction in the Greater Washington Area, surpassing the population of Washington, D.C. by over 400,000 residents. The US Census Bureau predicts the current 2005 population to be well over 1,000,000. Its county seat is the independent city of Fairfax6. Fairfax County is the location of many suburbs of Washington D.C. and the county lies just outside of Washington D.C.

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 Fort Belvoir in southern Fairfax being the county's single largest employer. The top 5 largest private employers include the Inova Health System, Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.) and Freddie Mac. Fairfax County also is home to several large companies such as Nextel, Gannett, Capital One, General Dynamics, NVR, and Freddie Mac.

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