Located just ten miles west of Washington, DC in Fairfax County, McLean is one of Northern Virginia’s premier suburbs for affluent professionals and their families. Fairfax County is known for its high incomes and even higher home prices, and McLean is no exception. The quality of life here is virtually unparalleled within Virginia, combining high-end suburban amenities with easy access to Washington, thanks to excellent public transportation. Though visitors may find that commuting can be a nightmare during peak traffic, residents quickly learn the ins and outs of navigating traffic patterns and finding the best routes to work.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
McLean is home to about 48,000 residents. The area has a diverse population, with nearly one-quarter of its citizens born outside of the United States. The largest non-Caucasian population segment is Asian at about 22 percent. DC-area Asian and Pacific Islander business owners are represented by their own commercial organization, The Asian-American Chamber of Commerce. Less than two percent of McLean residents identify as black or African-American, and just under five percent as Hispanic or Latino.
Some parts of Northern Virginia are known for their growing millennial population of young families and single, like Arlington, where the median age is about 34. McLean, however, has a higher percentage of families with older kids. The median age is 45, and a third of McLean residents are in the 45 to 64 age bracket. About 40 percent of McLean is made up of families with kids under age 18, nearly two-thirds of which are older than age six, and about 71 percent of the population is married. While McLean offers plenty of entertainment for singles, many of its amenities are geared toward this family-centric distribution.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
McLean is family-centric and inclusive, with an emphasis on arts and education. The very popular Clemyjontri Park and playground offers specialized equipment, like wheelchair-accessible swings, to provide recreational activities for kids of all ability levels. Clemyjontri has learning stations with a Braille option. Fairfax County offers plenty of year-round, family-friendly events, like weekend festivals and concerts. There are regular performances at McLean’s Alden Theatre, and the McLean Project for the Arts galleries feature installments and exhibits highlighting contemporary art.
Like much of the DC-suburban area of Northern Virginia, McLean offers an exceptionally high quality of life. Crime rates are quite low, at about half the state average, and McLean is safer than nearly 80 percent of other US cities. Non-violent property crimes, such as burglary, make up 92 percent of all crimes committed in the area annually.
Fairfax County public schools, where McLean students are zoned, are among the best in the state. Education is given high priority here. Many schools offer excellent sports programs, and most balance STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) with the arts and humanities. Students have opportunities for field trips to the many educational museums and zoos in the area. The school ranking organization Great Schools gives several McLean schools a 10 out of 10 rating. Average test scores in McLean are 95 percent, compared to the state average of 81 percent, and are much higher than the national average of 68 percent. The Fairfax County public library system is fantastic, with ongoing community events like author visits, classes, concerts, and book sales as well as special events throughout the year.
The trade-off for all these great amenities is a high cost of living, with a COL index that’s a jaw-dropping 96 percent higher than the national average. This is almost entirely due to the housing index. A home in McLean costs more than three times as much as the national average. However, goods, services, and healthcare in McLean cost less than in the rest of the nation, while groceries, transportation, and utilities are only marginally higher.
McLean is known for affluence and the high-quality lifestyle that comes with it. The median household income of $179,000 is nearly three times higher than the state average. The unemployment rate of 2.6 percent is less than half that of the national rate of 6 percent, and just 2.4 percent of McLean residents live at or below the poverty level, compared with 11 percent for the state and nearly 15 percent for the nation. Nearly 100 percent of McLean residents graduate high school, 80 percent have a bachelor’s degree, and nearly half have a master’s degree.
Shopping has been elevated to an art form in the McLean area, thanks to its residents’ high disposable incomes. Tysons Corner Center was, at one time, the largest mall in the nation, and it’s still the largest in Virginia. It boasts more than 300 stores and 2.4 million square feet of retail space. Just across the street is the more upscale Tysons Galleria, with an additional 120 shops and service locations. The Galleria features designer boutiques like Chanel, Versace, and Ferragamo.
