Falls Church City is an independent city in Virginia, United States. The population is 11,200. This city is a part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. A much larger number of people reside in Greater Falls Church and use Falls Church as their mailing addresses. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Falls Church (along with Fairfax City) with Fairfax County for statistical purposes.

Although two stations on the Washington DC Metro subway system have "Falls Church" in their names, neither lies within the City of Falls Church – one (East Falls Church Metro) is actually in Arlington County, VA and the other (West Falls Church Metro) is in Fairfax County, VA.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,377 people, 4,471 households, and 2,620 families residing in Falls Church city. The population density was 5,225.8 people per square mile. There were 4,725 housing units at an average density of 2,379.5/sq mi. 

There were 4,471 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.01.

The age distribution was 23.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.

The median income for a household in Falls Church city was $74,924, and the median income for a family was $97,225. Males had a median income of $65,227 versus $46,014 for females. The per capita income for Falls Church city was $41,051. About 2.8% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Falls Church is governed by a seven member city council, each elected at large for four year, staggered terms. City elections are held every two years on the second Tuesday in May of even numbered years. The Mayor is elected by vote of the members of council. The city operates in a typical council-manager form of municipal government, with a city manager hired by the council to serve as the city's chief administrative officer.

Candidates for city elections do not run under a nationally affiliated party nomination. The dominant organizing force for city politics for many years has been the Citizens for a Better City (CBC) which endorses a slate of candidates for each election. The origin of the CBC relates, in part, to the high number of federal employees in the city falling under the Hatch Act restrictions on partisan political activity. Funding levels for city schools, tax rates, quality of city services, and land use decisions, are among the prevalent themes in city elections.

Falls Church City services and functions include education, public safety and law enforcement, recreation and parks, library, land use, zoning, and building inspections, street maintenance, storm water, and water and sanitary sewer service. Some public services are provided by agreement with Falls Church City's county neighbors of Arlington County VA and Fairfax County VA, including certain health and human services (Fairfax County VA), and court services and fire/rescue services (Arlington County VA). In turn, Falls Church City provides water utility service to a large portion of eastern Fairfax County VA, including the dense commercial areas of Tysons Corner, VA and Merrifield, VA.

Map showing location of City of Falls Church relative to surrounding areas

Notable residents

• Eric Denton, Defender for Red Bull New York of Major League Soccer
• Molly Henneberg, television journalist
• Mike Hercus, player for the United States national rugby union team
• Nancy Kyes, actress in 1978 Halloween movie.
• Dorian Leigh, American fashion model.
• Tom Shadyac, noted director (Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty), born in 1958.
• James Thurber, who had a childhood summer home here, where he lost his left eye in an accident. Thurber Court is located at the site of his former residence.
• Ted White, science fiction author and editor
• Jodi Weatheron, mostly known for appearing on Road Rules: X-Treme and the winner of the The Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Gauntlet 2 and The Duel
• Milton S. Eisenhower, American public servant and educator, lived in Falls Church during part of his service with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He owned a prominent home, Tallwood, on Broad Street; a historical marker notes that his older brother, General (later President) Dwight D. Eisenhower stayed with him when he first reported to Washington after Pearl Harbor was attacked.[1]
• Aubrey (YouTube Makeup Guru), a very famous lady on YouTube that teaches her viewers makeup techniques, looks, etc.

Education

The city is served by Falls Church City Public Schools:

• Mount Daniel Elementary School, which includes pre-school, kindergarten and first grade.
• Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (TJ), which includes grades 2 - 4.
• Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School (MEH), which includes grades 5 - 7.
• George Mason High School (GMHS), a highly-regarded, nationally ranked high school (at one point ranked #1 in the DC Area by the Washington Post, #6 in the nation by Newsweek in the "Challenge Index" devised by Newsweek and Washington Post writer Jay Mathews) which includes grades 8 - 12.

The city is also home to Saint James Catholic School, a Catholic parochial school serving grades K-8. As well as private school Congressional Schools of Virginia, which serves preschool through to 8th Grade.

Falls Church High School is not part of the Falls Church City Public School system, but rather the Fairfax County Public School system. The school does not serve the city of Falls Church. Of the four schools that compose the Falls Church City Public Schools, only one (Thomas Jefferson Elementary School) is located within the city; the other three are located in neighboring Fairfax County.

Transportation

• The Washington Metrorail Orange line system has two stations, East Falls Church and West Falls Church-VT/UVA, located just outside of Falls Church city.
• The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority provides bus service throughout the Washington metropolitan area, including Falls Church.
• Falls Church City, through the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, provides GEORGE, a city-wide bus service that runs to the Falls Church Metro stations.
• A small portion of the 45-mile Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park runs through Falls Church city. The trail enters Falls Church city from the west between mile markers 7 and 7.5 (near Broad Street). The trail enters the city from the east between mile markers 5.5 and 6. The Four Mile Run Trail begins in the city at Van Buren Street. The W&OD and various predecessor lines provided rail transportation from 1860 to May 31, 1951, with exception of a few years during the Civil War. Freight service was abandoned in August 1968. These trails comprise a major bicycle commuting route to Washington, D.C.

Annual Memorial Day Festival and Parade

Falls Church has hosted an annual Memorial Day Parade since at least the 1950s, attracting bands, military units and fire/rescue stations from the surrounding area. In 1982, Falls Church added an annual street festival. The yearly event has begun each Memorial Day with a three kilometer (3K) Fun Run sponsored by a local car dealership, Don Beyer Volvo of Alexandria, Virginia. The 2007 race drew over 4,000 runners of all ages from the local communities. Food and craft vendors, along with non-profit organizations, set up tents and booths on the grounds of City Hall and the surrounding streets. The festival culminates with a parade down Park Avenue, featuring local police and fire departments, marching bands, and cultural and civic associations.

From Wikipedia