Ashburn, Virginia
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Ashburn is a unincorporated settlement and
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Loudoun County, Virginia 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. The county seat is Leesburg. Loudoun County ...
, United States. At the 2020 United States census, its population was 46,349, up from 3,393 in 1990. It is northwest of Washington, D.C., and part of the
Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...
. Ashburn is a major hub for Internet traffic due to its many data centers.


Etymology

The name Ashburn is believed to have originated from "Ashburn Farm," a 1,236-acre estate originally owned by John Janney, a prominent 19th-century Quaker lawyer and politician who served as president of Virginia's Secession Convention in 1861. The property was later purchased by George Lee III in the 1870s, who is thought to have named it "Ashburn" either for the ash trees that dotted the landscape or possibly as a reference to the ash-colored soil or barn fires that had previously occurred in the area. Originally a quiet farming village known as Farmwell, the area became a part of a larger plantation economy in
Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, 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. The county seat is Leesburg, Virgi ...
. Ashburn remained largely rural through the early 20th century. It began to change significantly in the 1980s and 1990s with the expansion of the Dulles Technology Corridor and the construction of major planned communities such as Ashburn Village and Ashburn Farm. By the early 2000s, Ashburn had become a global internet hub earning nicknames like " Data center Alley" due to its massive concentration of data infrastructure, which routes a significant portion of the world's web traffic. Today, Ashburn is a central part of Loudoun County's high-tech economy and suburban expansion with preserved natural and historic landscapes such as the W&OD Trail and nearby farms and battlefields. According to the
US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, Ashburn is a
census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
. Despite being restricted to a certain boundary, the broader "Ashburn area" includes adjacent communities and commercial centers that share mailing addresses, infrastructure, and ZIP Codes like 20147 and 20148. This includes communities such as Brambleton, Broadlands, Moorefield, Loudoun Valley Estates, and Belmont. Its origin began as farmland and a small rail stop along the Washington and Old Dominion
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
, gradually developing into a suburban area as transportation routes and regional growth pushed west from Washington D.C.


History

Ashburn, located in eastern
Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, 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. The county seat is Leesburg, Virgi ...
, Virginia, was originally part of a rural agricultural region known as Farmwell. The land was divided among several estates during the 18th and 19th centuries, forming part of the broader plantation economy that defined much of
northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
. During the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
,
Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, 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. The county seat is Leesburg, Virgi ...
was deeply divided, and while Ashburn did not see major battles, it was affected by nearby troop movements, raids, and the broader regional instability at the time. In the late 19th century, the arrival of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad provided a transportation link that supported local farms and small industries, although Ashburn itself remained sparsely populated and primarily agricultural well into the 20th century. The W&OD rail corridor, now a regional trail, is one of the area's key preserved historical routes. Following the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, land ownership changed and farming practices shifted, but Ashburn continued to be defined by its rural character for many decades. Significant change began in the second half of the 20th century, particularly after the opening of Washington Dulles International Airport in 1962. This major infrastructure project spurred development throughout the surrounding region, and Ashburn's location made it a strategic site for future suburban and technological expansion. In the 1980s and 1990s, planned communities such as Ashburn Village and Ashburn Farm were constructed, transforming the area into a major residential zone within
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
's growing suburban region. By the early 2000s, Ashburn had become a hub for global internet infrastructure. A combination of reliable electricity and access to fiber-optic networks attracted major technology firms. The region developed the highest concentration of data centers in the world, earning the nickname "Data Center Alley." Today, Ashburn is a central component of Loudoun County's tech economy, supporting various technological industries in areas such as
cloud computing Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...
and
cybersecurity Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...
while also serving as a key residential area for workers in the greater Washington, D.C. metro region.


Geography

Ashburn is located in eastern Loudoun County, southeast of Leesburg, the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
, and the same distance north of Dulles International Airport. As drawn by the U.S. Census Bureau, the area counted as "Ashburn" extends north to Virginia State Route 7, east to Virginia State Route 28, and southwest to the Dulles Greenway (VA 267). The Ashburn CDP is bordered to the north by the Belmont, Lansdowne, One Loudoun, and University Center CDPs; to the east by the Kincora, Dulles Town Center, and Sterling CDPs; to the southwest by the Moorefield and Broadlands CDPs; and to the west by the Goose Creek Village CDP. According to the 2020 United States census, the Ashburn CDP has a total area of , of which are land and are water. The area is drained by Broad Run, which flows northward through the eastern part of the CDP toward the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
.


Subdivisions

The Ashburn CDP consists of many major and minor subdivisions such as Ashbrook, Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village, the Courts and Ridges at Ashburn, and the Village of Waxpool.


Demographics

Ashburn was first listed as a
census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in the 2010 U.S. Census. The
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
defines Ashburn as a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP). As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 43,511 residents, while the larger ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) for Ashburn's 20147 ZIP code contained 54,086 people. Many of its residents commute into Washington, D.C. and the surrounding suburbs such as Tysons Corner and Reston to their places of employment. The median household income as of 2009 was $100,719. Median age in Ashburn is 31.6. Ashburn's population is made up of 49% males and 51% females. The racial makeup of the CDP was 67.1%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
(59.1%
non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
), 8.2%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.2% Native American, 17.1% Asian, 0.0%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, and 5.4% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino people of any race made up 11.8% of the population. The total number of households accounted for in Ashburn was 22,555. The median household size is 2.9 persons. 98% percent of Ashburn residents have a high school degree. Some 42 percent of Ashburn's population holds a four-year bachelor's degree; 18 percent holds graduate degrees. Homeowners formed 80 percent of the population, renters made up 13% of the population, and 7% of housing units were listed as vacancies. The median age of housing was 5.0 years. The median housing value is at $630,000.


Economy

Located within the Dulles Technology Corridor, Ashburn is home to many high-tech businesses. World Trade Center Dulles Airport is the second World Trade Center in the state. Verizon Business has a major office in Ashburn at the location replacing MCI WorldCom's headquarters after its acquisition. Ashburn is also home to government contractor
Telos Telos (; ) is a term used by philosopher Aristotle to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity, or of human art. ''Telos'' is the root of the modern term teleology, the study of purposiveness or of objects with a view to their aims, ...
. Ashburn is a major hub for data centers, with companies such as Digital Realty, Equinix, and NTT, operating multiple facilities there. Among other websites, the
Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (WMF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and registered there as foundation (United States law), a charitable foundation. It is the host of Wikipedia, th ...
(parent of Wikipedia) and
Amazon Web Services Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Amazon that provides Software as a service, on-demand cloud computing computing platform, platforms and Application programming interface, APIs to individuals, companies, and gover ...
have data centers there. The
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
's Virginia Science and Technology Campus and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus are located north of Ashburn in the University Center and Lansdowne CDPs, respectively. INOVA Sports Performance Center, the training camp for the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
, is located in the east part of Ashburn. Airbus Group, Inc., a defense contractor headed by former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, has a second location in Ashburn in addition to its main office in Herndon, Virginia.


Government


Federal

The National Transportation Safety Board once operated the Ashburn Aviation Field Office in Ashburn; it was the regional headquarters of the NTSB Aviation Eastern Region. The office relocated to Washington DC in early 2023.


Education


Colleges and universities

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
and Strayer University have campuses in the area. In December 2009, it was announced that
George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...
was planning to set up a campus in Ashburn, to be located at Exit 6 off the Dulles Greenway.


Primary and secondary schools

Educational institutions in Ashburn are operated by the Loudoun County Public Schools. Ashburn's elementary schools include Ashburn Elementary School, Belmont Station Elementary School, Cedar Lane Elementary School, Creighton's Corner Elementary, Discovery Elementary School, Dominion Trail Elementary School, Hillside Elementary School, Legacy Elementary School, Madison's Trust Elementary, Mill Run Elementary School, Moorefield Station Elementary School, Newton-Lee Elementary School, Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School, Sanders Corner Elementary School, Steuart W. Weller Elementary School, and Sycolin Creek Elementary School. Ashburn's public middle schools include Eagle Ridge Middle School, Farmwell Station Middle School, Stone Hill Middle School, Brambleton Middle School, Trailside Middle School, and Belmont Ridge Middle School. Public high schools in Ashburn include Briar Woods High School, Broad Run High School, Independence High School, Rock Ridge High School, and Stone Bridge High School. There are six private schools in Ashburn: Loudoun School for Advanced Studies, St. Theresa Catholic School, Virginia Academy, Leport School, The Loudoun Country Day School, and County Christian School.


Media

Media covering Ashburn include '' Leesburg Today'', and the '' Loudoun Times-Mirror''.


Infrastructure


Washington Metro

Ashburn is served by two Washington Metro Silver Line stations. After passing through Dulles Airport, the Silver Line enters Ashburn in the median of the Dulles Greenway. The first stop in Ashburn is Loudoun Gateway station, with Ashburn station serving as the terminus. Originally planned to open in 2016, the opening was pushed back by multiple delays and finally opened on November 15, 2022.


Emergency services

Ashburn's fire and
emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...
are provided by the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System. Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department (AVFRD) is a volunteer company under LC-CFRS, and serves Ashburn with Stations 6 and 22, which are located near Inova Loudoun Hospital. LC-CFRS career staff operate Moorefield Station 23, near Ashburn station (Washington Metro). The Ashburn area is served by the Inova Ashburn Healthplex Emergency Room at the corner of the Dulles Greenway and Loudoun County Parkway as well as Inova Loudoun Hospital, located less than from Ashburn in neighboring Lansdowne, and by larger hospitals in the Washington suburbs and city.


Notable people

* Jonathan Allen,
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
* J. B. Bukauskas, Major League Baseball player * Ashley Caldwell, freestyle skier, member of the US team for the 2010 Winter Olympics * Taylor Clarke, Major League Baseball player * Nate Davis,
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...
* Emily Fox, soccer player and 2024 Olympic gold medalist for the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
* Carl C. Johnson, retired U.S. Army Air Force/ U.S. Army officer and last
Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...
cadet pilot graduate * Trace McSorley,
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
* Wilson Pickett, singer


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Loudoun County, Virginia ** Ashburn Presbyterian Church ** Belmont Manor House ** Broad Run Bridge and Tollhouse ** Janelia mansion, located on Janelia Farm Research Campus * Ashburn Colored School * Edelman Financial Field


References


External links


Ashburn guide
{{Authority control Census-designated places in Loudoun County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Washington metropolitan area