Vienna () is a town in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...

, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, and 22182), bordered approximately by

Interstate 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 south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to the north, and Hunter Mill Road to the west, than in the town itself.

History

European settlement in the region dates to the mid-18th century. In 1754, prominent soldier and landowner Colonel Charles Broadwater settled within the town boundaries. Broadwater's son-in-law, John Hunter, built the first recorded house there in 1767, naming it Ayr Hill to recall his birthplace, Ayr, Scotland. That name was then applied to the tiny community. The town's name was changed in the 1850s, when a doctor, William Hendrick, settled there and the town renamed itself after his hometown, Phelps, New York, which was then known as Vienna.

American Civil War

On June 17, 1861, the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

, one of the earliest armed clashes of 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 ...

, was fought in Vienna. A Union Army unit under Brigadier General Robert C. Schenck approached Vienna from the east by train but was ambushed and forced to retreat by a Confederate force led by Colonel Maxcy Gregg. Several historical markers in Vienna detail its Civil War history. In addition, in the town center lies the well preserved Freeman House; which, in 1861, was the polling place for the secession vote and was used during the war by both sides as a hospital. The house has been turned into a museum and gift shop. The First Baptist Church of Vienna was founded in 1867, and the original church structure was built using Union Army barracks lumber obtained through the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen (i.e., former enslaved people) in the ...

. This church building was also the town's first black public school. The first white public school was built in 1872.

20th century

A permanent black elementary school was built, and was later named for its long-time principal, Louise Archer. In fall 1965, Fairfax County Public Schools were completely desegregated.

Geography

Vienna is located at (38.8991, −77.2607), at an elevation of . It lies in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

approximately southwest of 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 ...

. Wolftrap Creek, a tributary of nearby Difficult Run, flows north from its source in the eastern part of town. The Bear Branch of

Accotink Creek Accotink Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary stream of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, in the U ...

, a Potomac tributary, flows south from its source in the southern part of town. Located in

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. ...

, Vienna is west of

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 ...

, and northeast of Fairfax, 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 ...

. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. As a suburb of

, Vienna is a part of both 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 ...

and the larger

Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area The Washington–Baltimore combined metropolitan statistical area is a combined statistical area, statistical area, including the overlapping metropolitan areas of Washington metropolitan area, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan area, B ...

. It is bordered on all sides by other Washington suburbs, including: Wolf Trap to the north, Tysons Corner to the northeast, Dunn Loring to the east, Merrifield to the south, and Oakton to the west. These communities are unincorporated, and portions of them lie in ZIP codes with Vienna postal addresses despite lying outside the town's borders.

Climate

Vienna has a warm temperate hot summer climate (Cfa), where the winters are cool, and summers are hot. The town is situated in USDA Hardiness Zone 7, where the annual average minimum is 0-9 °F.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 16,473 people, 5,424 households, and 4,215 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 5,686 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 74.4%

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 ...

, 13.7% Asian, 9.8%

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, 2.2%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, and 7.8% from two or more races. There were 5,424 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% 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, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84, and the average family size was 3.19. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males age 18 and over. As of 2009, the median income for a household in the town was $113,817, and the median income for a family was $124,895. Males had a median income of $88,355 versus $66,642 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 town was $49,544. About 3.7% of families and 5.9% of the population were 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 6.5% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over. Vienna's median home price was $820,000 in 2017, one of the highest in the nation.

Governance

Vienna Town Council is composed of a mayor and six councilmembers. The Council establishes policies, passes ordinances and resolutions, approves the Town budget, sets tax rates, approves land-use plans, and makes appointments to Town boards and commissions: * Board of Architectural Review * Board of Zoning Appeals * Conservation and Sustainability Commission * Planning Commission * Town Business Liaison Committee * Transportation Safety Commission * Vienna Public Art Commission * Windover Heights Board of Review Elections of the Council members and mayor is over seen and run by the Fairfax County Office of Elections

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The town is served by Fairfax County Public Schools. Vienna is served by three high schools (Oakton, Madison, and Marshall); two middle schools (Kilmer and Thoreau), and seven elementary schools. However, of all the schools Vienna students attend, only four public and one private are actually within the town limits: Cunningham Park Elementary School, Marshall Road Elementary School, Louise Archer Elementary School, Vienna Elementary School and Green Hedges School. Vienna has one independent school, Green Hedges, accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools. Green Hedges has students from ages 3– 5 (Montessori preschool and kindergarten program) through preparatory grades 1–8. Founded in 1942 by Frances and Kenton Kilmer, the School was relocated to the Windsor Heights area of Vienna in 1955. Vienna also has one independent Catholic school, Oakcrest School, which was founded in 1976 and moved to its permanent campus in Vienna in 2017, and two Catholic elementary schools: St. Mark Catholic School and Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School.

Public libraries

Fairfax County Public Library operates the Patrick Henry Library in Vienna.

Transportation

is the main highway serving Vienna. Access is provided via Exit 62 and Virginia State Route 243. In addition, Virginia State Route 123 runs through downtown Vienna.

Economy

MAE-East is located in Vienna. Along with MAE-West, it served as one of two locations, where all Internet traffic was exchanged between one ISP and other private, government, and academic Internet networks and served as a magnet for telecom and other high-tech companies focused on the Internet. In 1995 America Online ( AOL) was headquartered at 8619 Westwood Center Drive in Tysons Corner CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County,Tysons Corner CDP, Virginia
." ''

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 ...

''. Retrieved on May 7, 2009. near Vienna. The corporate headquarters of Navy Federal Credit Union is located in Vienna.

Top employers

According to Vienna's 2022 ''Annual Comprehensive Financial Report'', the top employers in the town are: :

Recreation

The W&OD Trail crosses through downtown Vienna. Several parks are located near the town, including Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. The town green and Jammin' Java coffeehouse and music club serve as areas for theatre and musical performances.

Notable people

Many of these residents live outside the town but in the Vienna postal delivery area. * Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot, painter * Yussur A. F. Abrar, former governor, Central Bank of Somalia * Angela Aki, singer * Alex Albrecht, host of

Digg Digg (stylized in lowercase as digg) is an American news aggregator with a curated front page, aiming to select articles specifically for the Internet audience such as science, trending political issues, and viral phenomenon, viral Internet iss ...

podcast Diggnation * Louise Archer, notable Black Educator * Mike Baker, former CIA operations officer and

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

contributor *

David Baldacci David Baldacci (born August 5, 1960) is an American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers. His novels are published in over 45 languages and published in over 80 countries, having sold ove ...

, author * Sandra Beasley, poet * Reva Beck Bosone, former U.S. Representative * Gordon L. Brady, economist and writer * Steve Buckhantz,

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

play-by-play announcer * Ian Caldwell, author * David Chang, chef and restaurateur * Tom Davis, former U.S. Representative * John M. Dowd, lawyer * Trevor N. Dupuy, historian and former U.S. Army colonel * Bill Emerson (musician), bluegrass banjoist and founder of The Country Gentlemen * Billy Lee Evans, former U.S. Representative * Kyle Foggo, former U.S. federal government intelligence officer convicted of bribery * Hrach Gregorian, political consultant, educator, and writer * Katherine Hadford, figure skater * Jim Hill, former distance runner who competed in the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

* Robert Hanssen, former

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

counterespionage agent convicting of conducting espionage for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

* Charles DeLano Hine, former civil engineer, lawyer, railway official, and U.S. Army colonel during

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

* Orrin E. Hine, Union Army major in 50th New York Engineer Regiment during

* Spencer Heath, inventor of the reversible pitch airplane propeller * William G. Hundley, former criminal defense attorney * Mark Keam, former

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

member * David Kellermann, former chief financial officer,

Freddie Mac The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is an American publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons, Virginia.Lester Kinsolving, reporter, columnist, and talk show host *

Ilia Malinin Ilia Malinin (born December 2, 2004) is an American competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World champion (2024 World Figure Skating Championships, 2024 & 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, 2025), two-time Grand Prix of Figure Skating ...

, figure skater * Michael McCrary, former professional football player,

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

* Robert M. McDowell, former

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

commissioner * Heather Mercer, Christian missionary held captive in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2001 * John Myung, professional poker player * Héctor Andrés Negroni, first Puerto Rican graduate of U.S. Air Force Academy * Alketas Panagoulias, former

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and 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 ...

soccer team manager * Howard Phillips, former

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

political activist * Tony Rodham, American consultant and businessman and youngest brother of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

* Garrett Roe, former U.S. hockey Olympian * Chris Samuels, former professional football player,

Washington Redskins 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) NFC East, East ...

* Randy Scott,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

sportscater and former stand-up comedian * Holly Seibold, non-profit leader and

nominee * Kaleem Shah, entrepreneur and owner of thoroughbred race horses * Alfred Dennis Sieminski, former U.S. RepresentativeAlfred Dennis Sieminski biography

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. Accessed June 29, 2007. * Nick Sorensen, former professional football player,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

* Michael J. Sullivan (author), Michael J. Sullivan, fantasy novelist * Edwin B. Winans (general), Edwin Winans, U.S. Army general * Frank Wolf (politician), Frank Wolf, former U.S. Representative

Points of interest

* Freeman Store and Museum (Vienna, Virginia) * Jammin' Java, Jammin' Java coffeehouse and music club * Meadowlark Botanical Gardens * Terrorist Screening Center * Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (located in the Census-designated place, CDP of Wolf Trap, Virginia)

References

External links

Town of Vienna website
{{authority control Vienna, Virginia, 1767 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Populated places established in 1767 Towns in Fairfax County, Virginia Towns in Virginia Washington metropolitan area