Dulles () is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States, and is part of the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

. The headquarters of

Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...

and ODIN Technologies, as well as the former headquarters of

MCI Inc. MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...

and

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

are located in Dulles. The

National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington The National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington is a local office of the National Weather Service responsible for monitoring weather conditions in 44 counties in eastern West Virginia, northern and central Virginia, the majority of the state of ...

forecast office and the National Weather Service's Sterling Field Support Center are also both in Dulles.

Geography

Dulles covers roughly the southwestern third of

Sterling, Virginia Sterling, Virginia, refers most specifically to a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population of the CDP as of the 2010 United States Census was 27,822. The CDP boundaries are confined to a relatively s ...

(another unincorporated community). The usage of Dulles as a community name began in the mid-1980s when Loudoun County economic development officer Pam Treadwell successfully lobbied the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

to allow Sterling businesses and residents to use Dulles as an alternative address. The

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

defines Dulles as an "acceptable" city name for the 20166 ZIP code, whose "recommended" city name is Sterling. Dulles is also the city name for ZIP code 20189. The addresses for shipping parcels to United States embassies and consulates, as well as their employees worldwide, are located in Dulles.

Transport

Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...

is located partially in Dulles (although its postal address uses the Sterling name instead) and partially in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

. The community derives its name from the airport; the airport in turn takes its name from former

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...

(1888–1959).

Economy

has its headquarters on

Warp Drive A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably ''Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" was i ...

in Dulles.

had its headquarters at 22000 AOL Way in Dulles. In 2007, AOL announced that it would move its headquarters from Loudoun County to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, though it would continue to operate its Virginia offices. Before its dissolution, FLYi, Inc./

Independence Air Independence Air was a low-cost airline, owned by FLYi, Inc., headquartered in the Loudoun Gateway Corporate Center in Dulles, Virginia, United States (near Washington, D.C.) that operated from 1989 until 2006. Its route network focused on the e ...

(originally

Atlantic Coast Airlines Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) was an airline based in the United States owned by Atlantic Coast Holdings, Inc. It operated as United Express for United Airlines and Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. It was headquartered in the Dulles area o ...

) was headquartered in Dulles. Prior to its dissolution,

MAXjet Airways MAXjet Airways was an American, transatlantic, all-business class airline that operated between 2003 and 2007. Its headquarters were located on the grounds of Washington-Dulles International Airport, and in the Dulles area of Loudoun County, Vi ...

was headquartered on the grounds of

and in Dulles. Cryptek was headquartered in Dulles before its acquisition in 2009. Other companies have offices in Dulles, e.g. Harris IT Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of

Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision equipment and both terrestrial and spaceb ...

Dulles Town Center Dulles Town Center is a two-level enclosed shopping mall in Sterling, Virginia, Sterling in Loudoun County, Virginia. It is located north of Washington Dulles International Airport. It is part of the Dulles Town Center, Virginia, Dulles Town Ce ...

, a large enclosed

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

, is also located in the northern part of Dulles.

References

External links

Dulles South Online
is an online portal for Dulles Region businesses, organizations and residents to post news, information, listings and events concerning the Dulles South Region, focusing specifically on economic, public policy and community growth information. {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Loudoun County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia Washington metropolitan area