Loudoun population now more than 300,000

Loudoun County, once the nation's fastest growing county, is still growing fast.
The U.S. Census Bureau last week announced its 2009 population estimates, showing Loudoun County to now be home to 301,171 people.
Loudoun and Alexandria both grew about 3.8 percent during the past year, leading all other Washington suburbs, The Washington Post reported. Loudoun's population was up almost 78 percent during the decade, coming in as the nation's 5th fastest growing county.
Those of us who lived here in the 1980s and '90s can remember being the nation's fastest growing county for a string of years. No other area of the country could compete with the rapid growth that followed the opening of Dulles International Airport, leading to a continuing string of government contractors and other businesses relocating here, while the flat "Piedmont" eastern part of the county proved attractive to home developers and first-time homebuyers wanting space for children to play.
Loudoun's new population estimate is a 77.6 percent increase from the 169,599 people counted in the 2000 census. The Bureau reports the county's population now is 50.2 percent female, 30 percent under age 18, and 6.1 percent 65 years of age or older.
The Bureau estimates 104,261 occupied households here in Loudoun -- a 79 percent increase since 2000. Median 2008 household income is now estimated at $111,582. (The number of dual income households was not listed by the Census Bureau, but has been estimated by Forbes Magazine to be about two-thirds.)

-- martin casey