Demographics

• Regional Map
• Location
• Cost
• Workforce
• Quality of Life
• Community Profiles
  • Fredericksburg Region
  • City of Fredericksburg
  • Caroline County
  • King George County
  • Spotsylvania County
  • Stafford County

Stafford County

Community Profile

Stafford County is located on the Interstate 95 corridor in north-central Virginia, positioned midway between Washington and Richmond, the Virginia state capital. The city of Fredericksburg is located just south of the county. The county covers 277 square miles of land which consists of generally level to gently rolling terrain. Stafford County's proximity to major industrial and commercial markets, a growing labor force, and a commitment to orderly development have led to increased interest for manufacturers, distribution facilities, and service-oriented businesses.

Stafford County is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

Richmond is 58 miles to the south; Washington, D. C., is 40 miles north; and Norfolk is 155 miles southeast via Interstates 95 and 64.

Labor Market Data

Population

Gender Distribution
Stafford County	50.3% male	49.7% female

Ethnic Distribution
Stafford County	82.0% white	18.0% nonwhite

Median Age
Stafford County	33 years

Civilian Labor Force (2005)

Stafford County	61,803
Surrounding Labor Area	994,509
Total	1,056,312

Labor Force Participation (2000 Census)

Stafford County	76.0%
Surrounding Labor Area	72.7%

Unemployment

Unemployment Rate (October 2006)
Stafford County	1.94%
Surrounding Labor Area	2.01%
Statewide	2.71%

Unemployed 2005
Stafford County	1,472
Surrounding Labor Area	25,922
Total	27,394

Commuting Patterns (2000 Census)

Live and work in Stafford County	14,088	23.0%
Total In-Commuters	12,976	21.1%
Total Out-Commuters	34,293	55.9%
Net Out-Commuters	21,317

In-Commuters From:
Spotsylvania Co. VA	5,481	57.1%
Prince William Co. VA	1,691	17.6%
Fredericksburg City VA	1,263	13.2%
Fairfax Co. VA	587	6.1%
King George Co. VA	576	6.0%

Out-Commuters To:
Prince William Co. VA	7,743	30.4%
Fairfax Co. VA	7,249	28.5%
Fredericksburg City VA	4,343	17.1%
District of Columbia DC	3,310	13.0%
Spotsylvania Co. VA	2,813	11.0%

Additional Labor Resources

High school graduates not continuing	2004-2005	246
Two-year college graduates	Spring 2005	3,830
Two-year college enrollees	Fall 2005	38,559
Other college and university graduates	Spring 2005	7,813
	Total	50,448

Educational Attainment

Percentage of Stafford County 2001-2002 ninth graders graduating in 2004-2005	88.1%
Percentage of Stafford County population age 25+ who are high school graduates	88.6%
Percentage of Stafford County population age 25+ who have earned a Bachelor's Degree or higher	29.6%

Employment by Sector* (Second Quarter 2006)

Employment by Occupation* (Second Quarter 2006)

Major Employers (Manufacturing)

Company	Product/Service	Est. Employment
Colonial Circuits, Inc.	Printed circuit boards	50 - 99

Major Employers (Nonmanufacturing)

Company	Product/Service	Est. Employment
Batelle	Research & development	50 - 99
FBI Academy	Training facility	300 - 599
Government Employees Insurance, Inc. (GEICO)	Auto insurance	2500 - 4999
Intuit, Inc.	Software programs	300 - 599
Marine Corps Base Quantico	Marine corps base	10000 - 19999
McLane Mid-Atlantic	Grocery distribution center	600 - 999

Closings, Reductions & Layoffs

Date	Type	Company	Product/Service	Employees Affected
2/1/2004	Reduction	Trinity Packaging Corporation	Plastics packaging	21
7/1/2004	Closing	Trinity Packaging Corporation	Plastics packaging	105

Union Activity (01/2004 - 5/2006)

No Union Activity

Estimated Earnings (May 2005)

Occupation	Med. Wage	Mean Wage	Med. Salary	Mean Salary
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	$11.06	$11.68	$23,000.00	$24,300.00
Truck drivers, light or delivery services	$14.09	$14.18	$29,300.00	$29,500.00
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	$17.69	$17.64	$36,800.00	$36,700.00
Construction laborers	$12.45	$12.98	$25,900.00	$27,000.00
Carpenters	$16.01	$16.83	$33,300.00	$35,000.00
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades & extraction wrkrs	$21.39	$24.04	$44,500.00	$50,000.00
Office clerks, general	$11.63	$12.02	$24,200.00	$25,000.00
Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive	$15.87	$15.91	$33,000.00	$33,100.00
Stock clerks and order fillers	$10.77	$11.39	$22,400.00	$23,700.00
Receptionists and information clerks	$10.29	$10.67	$21,400.00	$22,200.00
Customer service representatives	$13.56	$14.47	$28,200.00	$30,100.00
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks	$14.86	$15.29	$30,900.00	$31,800.00
First-line supervisors/managers of office & admin support workers	$20.43	$22.64	$42,500.00	$47,100.00
Sales reps, wholesale & manufacturing, ex technical & scientific products	$18.17	$24.23	$37,800.00	$50,400.00
Teacher assistants	$8.46	$9.04	$17,600.00	$18,800.00
Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education	$32.64	$31.88	$67,900.00	$66,300.00
Business operations specialists, all other	$30.10	$30.05	$62,600.00	$62,500.00
General and operations managers	$46.63	$55.29	$97,000.00	$115,000.00

Per Capita Personal Income (2004)

$32,378

Median Family Income (2005)

$89,300

Education

Public School Enrollment

Level	Number	Fall 05 Enrollment
Elementary	16	11,640
Middle School	6	6,485
High School	5	8,304

Student Teacher Ratio (2004-05)

Elementary	16.4:1
Secondary	11.9:1

Percentage of 2001-2002 ninth grade membership graduating 2004-2005	88.1%
Percentage of high school graduates continuing education 2004-2005 (including military)	85.1%

Per Pupil Expenditure (FY 2005)

$7,561.79

Workforce Development Facilities

Facility	Type
Job Assistance Center	Comprehensive Center
Virginia Employment Commission Field Office: EasternShore	Comprehensive Center
Virginia Employment Commission Field Office: Fredericksburg	Comprehensive Center
Virginia Employment Commission Field Office: Warsaw - Northern Neck One Stop	Comprehensive Center

Higher Education Facilities

Facility	Fall 05 Enrollment
George Mason University - Fairfax Campus	29,724
Strayer University - Fredericksburg Campus	27,035‡
Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale Campus	15,031
Northern Virginia Community College - Woodbridge Campus	6,817
Northern Virginia Community College - Manassas Campus	4,555
ECPI College of Technology - Northern Virginia Campus	4,519‡
University of Mary Washington - Fredericksburg Campus	3,876
Germanna Community College - Fredericksburg Campus	3,867
Germanna Community College - Locust Grove Campus	2,002
Lord Fairfax Community College - Fauquier Campus	1,343
University of Mary Washington - College of Graduate & Professional Studies	858
ITT Technical Institute - Springfield Campus	425

‡Enrollment figures are for all campuses.

Transportation

Interstates

Name	Distance
I-95	0.0 miles (0.0 km.)
I-66	14.5 miles (23.4 km.)
I-495	19.9 miles (32.1 km.)
I-395	20.6 miles (33.2 km.)
I-295	25.3 miles (40.7 km.)
I-695	30.4 miles (48.9 km.)
I-270	33.6 miles (54.1 km.)
I-595	37.8 miles (60.8 km.)

Note: Measured from border of locality/region.

Highways

Highway 1	Highway 17	Highway 212
Highway 218	Highway 3

Note: 4-Lane US Highways located within locality/region.

Commercial Air Service

Washington Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.	24.3 miles (39.1 km.)

Aeroflot Airlines	Air Canada	Air France
AirTran Airways	All Nippon Airways	America West Airlines
American Airlines	American Eagle	Austrian Airlines
British Airways	BWIA International Airways	Continental Airlines
Continental Express	Delta Air Lines	Delta Connection
Ethiopian Airlines	Grupo Taca International Airlines	KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Korean Air Lines	Lufthansa German Airlines	Northwest Airlines
Saudi Arabian Airlines	United Airlines	United Express
US Airways	US Airways Express	Virgin Atlantic Airways
Alaska Airlines	Alitalia	American Connection
BMI/British Midland Airways	JetBlue Airways	LAB/Lloyd Aero Boliviano
South African Airlines	SAS/Scandinavian Airlines	TED

Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, Charlottesville, VA	27.9 miles (44.9 km.)

Comair/ Delta Connection	Northwest Airlines	United Express
US Airways Express

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C.	47.9 miles (77.1 km.)

Air Canada	AirTran Airways	America West Airlines
American Airlines	American Eagle	Continental Airlines
Continental Express	Delta Air Lines	Delta Connection
Delta Shuttle	Frontier Airlines	Northwest Airlines
Spirit Airlines	United Airlines	US Airways
US Airways Express	US Airways Shuttle	Midwest Airlines
Alaska Airlines	ATA Airlines

Richmond International Airport, Richmond, VA	50.8 miles (81.8 km.)

AirTran Airways	American Airlines	American Eagle
Comair/ Delta Connection	Continental Airlines	Delta Air Lines
Northwest Airlines	United Airlines	US Airways
JetBlue Airways

Note: Within 75 miles of nearest locality/region boundary.

General Aviation Service

Name	Runway Length
Stafford Regional Airport, Stafford, VA	5,000 ft (1,524 m)

Freight Rail Service

CSX Transportation

Ports

Name	Distance
Virginia Inland Port at Front Royal	55.0 miles (88.5 km)
Norfolk International Terminals	124.0 miles (199.6 km)

Note: Measured from center of locality/region

Utilities

Electric
Dominion Virginia Power	Northern Neck Electric Cooperative

Natural Gas
Columbia Gas of Virginia

Telecommunications
Verizon South	Verizon-Virginia

Water
Stafford County Utilities

Waste Water Treatment
Stafford County Utilities

Solid Waste Disposal
Rappahannock Regional Landfill

Financial Institutions

Bank	1st Qtr 2006 Assets (in millions)
Wachovia Bank, N.A.	$496,566.0
SunTrust Bank	$178,281.6
BB&T Co. of Virginia	$23,297.2
Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B.	$14,296.9
Provident Bank of Maryland	$6,096.1
Cardinal Bank, NA	$1,472.5
Patriot Bank, N.A.	$252.9
The National Bank of Fredericksburg	$162.0

Government

Stafford County has a County Administrator and a seven-member Board of Supervisors.

The county has a comprehensive plan and zoning and subdivision ordinances.

Spotsylvania is the county seat. There are no incorporated towns within the county.

Taxes

Localities in Virginia collect a 1% sales tax. They do not tax other items taxed at the State level.

Counties and cities in Virginia are separate taxing entities. Therefore, a company pays taxes to either a county or to a city.

If a company is located in a town, it pays town and county taxes except for utility taxes which are paid only to the town and the license tax which is paid only to the town unless town law permits the additional collection of a county tax.

Manufacturers pay real estate, machinery and tools, truck and automobile, utility, and sales taxes.

Nonmanufacturers pay real estate, tangible personal property, truck and automobile, utility, and sales taxes. They also may pay either a merchants' capital or a license tax.

Manufacturer's Tax Profile (Stafford) 51179 MFG.PDF
Non-Manufacturer's Tax Profile (Stafford) 51179 NMFG.PDF

Climate

Average Temperatures
January	35ºF (2ºC)
July	77ºF (25ºC)

Average Annual Precipitation
Rainfall	40.99" (104.12 cm)
Snowfall	17.70" (44.96 cm)

Community Facilities

Hospital care is easily accessible in two directions. Mary Washington Hospital, in Fredericksburg, is a 310-bed, full-service regional medical facility. It features a 24-hour emergency room, surgical and critical care divisions, obstetrics, and a cardiac care center. Potomac Hospital, 23 miles north in Woodbridge, has 153 beds and also offers an emergency room and full-service acute care. Additional hospital care is available in the Richmond or Washington, D. C., metropolitan areas. Several private clinics operate within the community. The county health department, based in Stafford, provides a variety of public health services for residents throughout the county.

The community is served by 270 physicians and 75 dentists. Numerous additional practitioners are available within the region.

The Central Rappahannock Regional Library system operates a branch in Stafford County.

The system's collection totals over 230,000 volumes. The library at Mary Washington College has a collection of over 500,000 volumes, which is also accessible to the public.

Over 80 Protestant churches are located in Stafford County. Catholic churches are found in both Stafford and Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg also has a Jewish synagogue, along with numerous other Protestant churches.

Nine shopping centers provide for the immediate retail needs of county residents. Nearby Fredericksburg's historic downtown shopping district contains numerous specialty, retail, craft, and antique shops and entertainment. Two regional malls, Spotsylvania Mall and Potomac Mills, are conveniently located in adjacent counties. Shoppers in the region have a complete range of stores from which to choose, including national department stores, factory outlets, and fashion boutiques.

The Virginia Railway Express provides daily commuter rail service to Metropolitan Washington from two stops in Stafford.

Stafford employs 143 full-time law enforcement personnel, 20 emergency medical service personnel, and is assisted by over 665 volunteers assigned to nine fire departments and nine volunteer rescue squads.

Lifestyle

Stafford was established in 1664 and named for Staffordshire, England. In Colonial times, Falmouth, on the north bank of the Rappahannock River, was a major port for the shipment of tobacco, wheat, corn, and cotton. Today residents and tourists can visit its landmark buildings such as Chatham, an 18th century manor house and Belmont, home of American impressionist artist Gari Melchers. Other historic attractions include George Washington's Ferry Farm; historic Fredericksburg; and famous Civil War battlefields such as Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and The Wilderness. 1996 also brought the opening of the Virginia Renaissance Faire for seven weekends each spring. This magical 16th century village of Merrie Olde England is brought to life by hundreds of costumed performers and skilled artisans providing fun, food, games, and crafts of the Elizabethan Period.

The county's location between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and the Chesapeake Bay to the east allows residents to choose from an extensive selection of recreational and cultural advantages. This community is close to many equestrian activities in Virginia's "Horse Country" and within an hour's drive of the Washington and Richmond areas and their many attractions. Kennedy Center, National Theater, Smithsonian Institution, and professional football, basketball, and hockey are easily accessible. Closer to home, Mary Washington College, in Fredericksburg, serves as host to a series of quality concerts, lectures, art exhibits, and dramatic productions.

The Stafford County Parks and Recreation Department sponsors leisure activity programs for all age groups. The county maintains 872 acres in parks that include indoor and outdoor swimming, tennis facilities, athletic fields, hiking trails, and picnic areas. Organized activities and special events include sports, arts and crafts, dances, summer concerts, and adult instructional classes. The county also organizes numerous group field trips and senior citizen activities. Five public golf courses are available in the region.

The Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and their creeks provide the setting for excellent swimming, fishing, and boating. The Rappahannock, in particular, is noted for challenging white water canoeing. The plentiful wooded areas of the county offer good deer and wild turkey hunting in season.

VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP
Every reasonable effort has been made to assure the accuracy of this report through the use of standardized, reliable data sources, including the community. However, the Partnership provides this information “as is,” and therefore, assumes no liability arising from the use of this report or data.

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