Loudoun County, Virginia

LOUDOUN COUNTY , V I RGINI A more outdoor space, or whatever that’s going to be —we can react to that. And the ability to have an office location, a mixed-use vibrant metro-accessible location, one or two stops from Dulles Airport, and with a quick access to Washington D.C. - we think it’s going to be just a bright shining future for us here in Loudoun County,” says Buddy Rizer, Executive Director for Economic Development. The recent past has been just as brilliant for Loudoun County. It has led the Commonwealth of Virginia in job growth for the last four years. And it has led the nation in highest median household income over that time as well. In addition, taxes for Loudoun County residents have actually decreased 21 percent over the last decade. That’s because Loudoun County has grown its commercial tax base from 19 percent to almost 40 percent of its overall tax base. This was accomplished through the recruitment and expansion of businesses. “We approach it almost like a private organization, a sales organization, and we’re full service in what we do,” Rizer explains. “We do everything, literally, from site selection to process assistance and fast track ombudsman work, to marketing, to research. I mean, we just want to be able to add value to every deal as we go forward. And then the county’s really been able to grow up around business as opposed to being so dependent on just the federal government or just residential taxes.” County leaders have used tax money to maintain and improve infrastructure. Over the last eight years, Loudoun County has spent more than $1 billion in local money on road construction. That work included both building new roads and making existing highways limited access to improve traffic flow. Infrastructure updates have been important because in just a few decades the county’s