Merrifield 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 ...

(CDP) in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 census, it is the most populous county in Virginia, the most populous jurisdiction in the Washington ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, United States. The population was 20,488 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Merrifield is located in eastern Fairfax County at (38.873144, −77.242994). It is bounded by

I-66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is a 76.32 mile east–west Interstate Highway in the East Coast of the United States, eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with Interstate 81 in Virginia, I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its w ...

on the north, the

Capital Beltway The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The Ring road, beltway encircles Washington, D.C., ...

on the east,

Arlington Boulevard Arlington Boulevard is a major arterial road in Arlington County, Virginia, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, and the independent Fairfax, Virginia, City of Fairfax in Northern Virginia in metropolitan Washington, DC, Un ...

(

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

) on the south, and Nutley Street ( Virginia State Highway 243) on the west. Neighboring communities are

Oakton Oakton may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places United States * Oakton, Georgia, a place in Georgia * Oakton, Kentucky, on Kentucky Route 58 * Oakton, Missouri *Oakton, Virginia Fictional *Oakton, the fictional setting of ''The Nut Job'' Other uses * Er ...

to the west, the town of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to the north, Dunn Loring to the northeast, Idylwood and West Falls Church to the east, Annandale at the southeast corner of Merrifield, Woodburn and

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

to the south, and the city of Fairfax to the southwest. Downtown

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, is to the east. According to 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 ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.23%, is water.

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 census (some information from the 2022 American Community Survey) there were 20,488 people, 9,616 housing units and 9,121 households residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 7,532.4 inhabitants per square mile (2,906.1/km²). The average housing unit density was 3,535.3 per square mile (1,364.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 42.85%

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 ...

, 6.61%

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 ...

, 0.47% Native American, 31.26% Asian, 0.07%

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 ...

, 7.17% from other races, and 11.56% 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 of any race was 15.10% of the population. Of the households, 44.6% were married couples, 25.3% were a male householder with family but no spouse, and 25.3% were a female householder with family but no spouse. The average family household had 2.87 people. The median age was 33.8, 17.2% of people were under the age of 18, and 7.5% were 65 years of age or older. Of the residents, 4.1% had Italian ancestry, 49.7% spoke a language other than English at home, and 43.3% were born outside the United States, 45.3% of whom were naturalized citizens. The median income for a household in the CDP was $134,022, and the median income for a family was $166,076. 4.1% of the population were

military veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the armed forces. A topic of interest for resea ...

, and 79.3% had a batchelor's degree or higher. In the CDP 6.4% of the population was below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over, with 5.6% of the population without

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

2010 Census

The population was 15,212 at the 2010 census.

2000 Census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 11,170 people, 4,396 households, and 2,725 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 4,534 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 54.67%

, 5.94%

, 0.25% Native American, 29.94% Asian, 0.10%

, 5.00% from other races, and 4.11% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 12.91% of the population. There were 4,396 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.06. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 19.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 42.7% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $70,363, and the median income for a family was $74,116. Males had a median income of $55,653 versus $43,095 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $32,819. About 5.3% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the

, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government, which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's h ...

operates public schools. The FCPS headquarters are located in the Gatehouse Administration Center within the Merrifield CDP.Contact Us
Fairfax County Public Schools. Retrieved on November 28, 2012. "Gatehouse Administration Center 8115 Gatehouse Road Falls Church, VA 22042"

Economy

The Mosaic District is a mixed-use complex in the format of an ersatz downtown, with buildings lining urban-style streets.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Fairfax County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Washington metropolitan area