Editing McLean, Virginia

{{Short description|Census-designated place and unincorporated community in US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = McLean, Virginia
| settlement_type    = [[Census-designated place]] and [[unincorporated community]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Hickory Hill, circa 1870, McLean, VA (25091801775).jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = [[Hickory Hill (McLean, Virginia)|Hickory Hill]]
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map        = USA Virginia Northern#USA Virginia#USA
| image_map          = Fairfax County Virginia Incorporated and Unincorporated Areas McLean highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 200px
| map_caption        = Location of McLean in [[Virginia]] (left) and in [[Fairfax County, Virginia]] (right)
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flagu|United States|size=23px}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Virginia|size=23px}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Virginia|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 64.4
| area_land_km2      = 64.2
| area_water_km2     = 0.23
| area_total_sq_mi   = 24.88
| area_land_sq_mi    = 24.79
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.09

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="McLean CDP Profile">{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US5148376|website=United States Census Bureau|title=McLean CDP, Virginia|access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=Census2010>{{cite web | title = U.S. Census website | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | url = https://www.census.gov | access-date = 2011-07-31}}</ref>
| population_total   = 50773
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = <!-- General information -->
| timezone           = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = −5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = −4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 87
| elevation_ft       = 285
| coordinates        = {{coord|38|56|03|N|77|10|39|W|region:US-VA_type:city(47,000)|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code        = 22101–22103, 22106
| area_codes         = [[Area code 571|571]], [[Area code 703|703]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 51-48376<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 1495919<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov |access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
| native_name_lang   = en
}}

'''McLean''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|k|l|eɪ|n}} {{respell|mə|KLAYN|'}})<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63788-2004Sep30.html |title= New in Town, Stranger? |work= Local Pronunciations |year= 2008 |access-date= 2008-07-17 | first=John | last=Kelly}}</ref> is an [[unincorporated community]] and [[census-designated place]] in [[Fairfax County, Virginia]], United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="McLean CDP Profile"/> It is located between the [[Potomac River]] and [[Vienna, Virginia|Vienna]] within the [[Washington metropolitan area]]. 

McLean is home to many wealthy residents such as diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proximity to [[Washington, D.C.]], [[the Pentagon]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. It is the location of [[Hickory Hill (McLean, Virginia)|Hickory Hill]], the former home of [[Ethel Kennedy]], the widow of [[Robert F. Kennedy]]. It is also the location of [[Salona (McLean, Virginia)|Salona]], the former home of [[Henry Lee III|Light-Horse Harry Lee]], the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] hero.

==History==
{{For timeline}}
The community received its name from [[John Roll McLean]], the former publisher and owner of ''The Washington Post''. Along with [[Stephen Benton Elkins]] and French aristocrat [[Jean-Pierre Guenard]], in 1902 he bought the charter for the [[Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad]]. Completed in 1906, it connected the area with Washington, D.C. McLean named a railroad station costing $1,500, of which $500 was raised locally, after himself where the rail line (traveling on the present route of Old Dominion Drive) crossed the old Chain Bridge Road.<ref name=Station>{{cite news|title=Along the 0. D. Railroad|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 7, 1920}}</ref> The community itself was founded in 1910, when the communities of [[Lewinsville, Virginia|Lewinsville]] and [[Langley, Virginia|Langley]] merged.

==Geography==
McLean is located on the [[Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)|Capital Beltway (Interstate 495)]] in [[Northern Virginia]], central McLean is {{convert|8|mi|km}} northwest of downtown [[Washington, D.C.]], and {{convert|9|mi|km}} northeast of [[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax]], the [[county seat]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Virginia Official State Transportation Map – Cities in Detail | publisher = [[Virginia Department of Transportation]] | url = http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/maps-cityinset.asp | access-date = 2011-07-31}}</ref>

The community lies in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] upland on the west bank of the [[Potomac River]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Piedmont province | work = The Geology of Virginia | publisher = [[The College of William & Mary]] Department of Geology | url = http://web.wm.edu/geology/virginia/provinces/piedmont/piedmont.html | access-date = 2011-07-31 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110807090340/http://web.wm.edu/geology/virginia/provinces/piedmont/piedmont.html | archive-date = 2011-08-07 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=CountyMap>{{cite web | title = Fairfax County Transportation Plan | publisher = Fairfax County Department of Transportation | date = Oct 2006 | url = http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/maps/images/maps/handouts/pdf07/TPM_020108v34.pdf | access-date = 2011-07-31 | archive-date = 2010-07-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100714122520/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/maps/images/maps/handouts/pdf07/TPM_020108v34.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> The river forms the community's northern and eastern borders, and a number of its smaller tributaries flow north and northeast through the CDP. From west to east, these include Bull Neck Run, Scott Run, Dead Run, Turkey Run, and [[Pimmit Run]].<ref name=CountyMap/>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the CDP has a total area of {{convert|24.88|sqmi|km2}} of which {{convert|24.79|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.09|sqmi|km2}} is water.<ref name=CensusPDF>{{cite web | title = Virginia: 2010 – Population and Housing Counts | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | url = https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-48.pdf | date = July 2012 | access-date = 2013-12-10}}</ref>

As an [[List of inner suburbs in the United States|inner suburb]] of Washington, D.C., McLean is a part of both the [[Washington Metropolitan Area]] and the larger [[Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area]]. The CDP includes the [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated communities]] of [[Langley, Virginia|Langley]], [[Lewinsville, Virginia|Lewinsville]], and [[West McLean, Virginia|West McLean]], and it borders several other Washington suburbs including: [[Potomac, Maryland|Potomac]] and [[Cabin John, Maryland]], to the north; [[Brookmont, Maryland]], to the northeast; [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]] to the southeast; [[Falls Church, Virginia|Falls Church]] to the south; [[Idylwood, Virginia|Idylwood]], [[Pimmit Hills, Virginia|Pimmit Hills]], and [[Tysons, Virginia|Tysons]] to the southwest; [[Wolf Trap, Virginia|Wolf Trap]] to the west; and [[Great Falls, Virginia|Great Falls]] to the northwest.<ref name=CensusPDF/><ref>{{cite web | title = Maryland: 2000 – Population and Housing Counts | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | url = https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc-3-22.pdf| date = September 2003 | access-date = 2011-07-31}}</ref>

McLean has a [[humid subtropical climate|humid climate]] (''Cfa'') and is in [[hardiness zone]] 7a.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1950= 
|1960= 
|1970= 17698
|1980= 35664
|1990= 38168
|2000= 38929
|2010= 48115
|2020= 50773
|estyear=
|estimate=
|align=
|footnote=[https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html * U.S. Decennial Census]}}
As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], there were 50,773 persons, 17,133 households, and 13,453 families residing in the CDP. The population density was {{convert|2047.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 17,756 housing units at an average density of {{convert|716.3|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the CDP was 67.1% [[White American|White]], 20.8% [[Asian American|Asian]], 2.2% [[African American]], 0.7% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], 3.6% from [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|other races]], and 8.1% from two or more races. [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics and Latinos]] of any race were 5.6% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=U.S Government |date=2020 |title=Quick Facts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/mcleancdpvirginia/HSG010223#HSG010223 |access-date=16 Apr 2025 |website=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

There were 17,063 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.5% were married couples living together, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. Of all households, 18.0% were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80, and the average family size was 3.17.<ref name=Census2010/>

The median age was 45.1 years. 26.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 4.3% was 18 to 24, 18.6% was 25 to 44, 33.2% was 45 to 64, and 17.0% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the community was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.<ref name=Census2010/>

The median income for a household in the CDP was $164,888, and the median income for a family was $194,832. Males had a median income of $132,714 versus $87,663 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the CDP was $87,073. About 1.3% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 2.6% of those under the age of 18 and 3.2% of those 65 and older.<ref name=Census2010/>

As of 2012, 61.6% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.4% was in the armed forces, and 61.2% was in the civilian labor force with 58.4% employed and 2.9% unemployed. The occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force was: 73.2% in management, business, science, and arts; 17.9% in sales and office occupations; 5.5% in service occupations; 2.0% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; 1.4% in production, transportation, and material moving. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were:  professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (27.8%); educational services, health care, and social assistance (17.7%); and public administration (16.6%).<ref name=Census2010/>

The cost of living in McLean is very high; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the community is 142.6.<ref name=CityData>{{cite web | title = McLean, Virginia | publisher = City-Data.com | url =http://www.city-data.com/city/McLean-Virginia.html | access-date = 2013-12-10}}</ref> As of 2012, the median home value in the community was $908,000, the median selected monthly owner cost was $3,803 for housing units with a mortgage and $1,000+ for those without, and the median gross rent was $2,000+.<ref name=Census2010/>

==Economy==
[[File:CIA New HQ Entrance.jpg|thumb|The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] headquarters]]

[[Mars Incorporated|Mars]] and [[Geebo]] are among the companies based in McLean.<ref>"[http://www.mars.com/global/Who+We+Are/Locations/Locations.htm Locations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823051306/http://www.mars.com/global/Who+We+Are/Locations/Locations.htm |date=2009-08-23 }}." Mars, Incorporated. Retrieved on September 1, 2009.</ref> Many businesses in neighboring [[Tysons, Virginia|Tysons]], particularly those east of Leesburg Pike (VA Route 7) have a McLean mailing address, because the US Postal Service boundary for West McLean (ZIP Code 22102) generally follows Leesburg Pike.

The [[George Bush Center for Intelligence|headquarters]] of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] is located in the [[Langley, Virginia|Langley]] area of McLean, and the headquarters of the [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] is also located in McLean. The [[U.S. Department of Transportation]]'s [[Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center]] is also located down the street from the CIA headquarters.<ref name="CDPmap">"[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=16000US5148376&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on McLean CDP, Virginia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430122937/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=16000US5148376&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on |date=April 30, 2011 }}." [[U.S. Census Bureau]]. Retrieved on September 1, 2009.</ref>

==Arts and culture==
[[Fairfax County Public Library]] operates the Dolley Madison Library in McLean.<ref name="CDPmap"/><ref>"[http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/ Library Branches]". [[Fairfax County Public Library]]. Retrieved on October 21, 2009.</ref>

==Parks and recreation==
The McLean Little League is also located in McLean. In 2005, the girls' All-Star softball team from McLean Little League won the [[Little League Softball World Series]] Championship in [[Portland, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=2005 Softball World Series {{!}} McLean Little League |url=http://mcleanll.com/Page.asp?n=16857 |website=mcleanll.com |access-date=20 November 2018}}</ref> MLL's girls' All-Star softball team has been the Little League Softball World Series runner-up twice, in 2004 and in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last1=du Lac |first1=J. Freedom |title=McLean falls at Little League Softball World Series |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mclean-falls-at-little-league-softball-world-series/2013/08/15/78d1300a-0578-11e3-bfc5-406b928603b2_story.html |access-date=November 20, 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=August 15, 2013 |language=en}}</ref>  The Mount Daniel School Park, operated by [[Falls Church, Virginia|The City of Falls Church]], is physically within the McLean CDP.<ref name="CDPmap"/><ref>"[http://www.fallschurchva.gov/Content/Docs/CityParksMap.pdf?cnlid=2957 Map of Parks]." City of Falls Church. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.</ref> [[Clemyjontri Park]] opened in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/clemyjontri/|title=Clemyjontri Park|publisher=Fairfax County Website|access-date=October 24, 2014}}</ref>

==Education==
[[Image:Langley High School main entrance McLean VA 2023-12-22 08-27-31.jpg|thumb|[[Langley High School (Fairfax County, Virginia)|Langley High School]] is one of two high schools within the McLean CDP]]

===Public primary and secondary schools===
McLean residents are zoned to schools in the [[Fairfax County Public Schools]].  These include:

* Chesterbrook; Churchill Road; Haycock; Kent Gardens; Franklin Sherman, and Spring Hill elementary schools.<ref name="CDPmap"/>
* [[James Fenimore Cooper Middle School]] and [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School]].<ref name="CDPmap"/>
*[[Langley High School (Fairfax County, Virginia)|Langley High School]] and [[McLean High School]].<ref name="CDPmap"/>

Mount Daniel School of the [[Falls Church City Public Schools]] is in the McLean.<ref name="CDPmap"/><ref>"[http://www.fccps.org/md/contactinfo.html Contact Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328063608/http://www.fccps.org/md/contactinfo.html |date=2010-03-28 }}." Mount Daniel School. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.</ref>

===Private primary and secondary schools===
Several private schools, ranging from pre-school to 12th grade, are located in McLean, including The Langley School, [[The Madeira School]], [[Potomac School (McLean, Virginia)|Potomac School]], [[Oakcrest School (McLean, Virginia)|Oakcrest School]], Saint Luke Catholic School, Saint John School,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stjohnacademy.org/|title=Saint John Academy – A private, Catholic K-8 day school for boys and girls.|website=stjohnacademy.org}}</ref> Brooksfield Montessori,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.greatschools.net/schools.page?city=McLean&lc=e&state=VA |title= McLean Elementary Schools |work= Great Schools |year= 2008 |access-date= 2008-07-14}}</ref> The Montessori School of McLean, and The Country Day School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.countryday.org|title=Home – The Country Day School|website=www.countryday.org}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2022}}

====Highways and roads====
The [[Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)|Capital Beltway]], [[George Washington Memorial Parkway]], [[Interstate 66 (Virginia)|Interstate 66]], [[State Route 267 (Virginia)|Dulles Access Road]], [[Virginia State Route 123|Dolley Madison Boulevard/Chain Bridge Road]], [[State Route 193 (Virginia)|Georgetown Pike]], and [[Virginia State Route 309|Old Dominion Drive]] all run through McLean.

====Subways and buses====
The [[Washington Metro]]'s [[Silver Line (Washington Metro)|Silver Line]] is southwest of downtown McLean.  Both the Silver and [[Orange Line (Washington Metro)|Orange]] lines physically enter the borders in between [[East Falls Church station|East Falls Church]] and [[West Falls Church station|West Falls Church]].  The [[McLean (WMATA station)|McLean]] station on the [[Silver Line (Washington Metro)|Silver Line]] is in the McLean CDP but lies along VA Route 123 about two miles west of downtown McLean. Other Metro stations nearby include West Falls Church on the Orange Line, East Falls Church, on both the Silver and Orange Lines, and the {{wmata|Tysons}} station on the Silver Line which also has a McLean address.

[[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority|WMATA]] ([[Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)|Metrobus]]) and [[Fairfax Connector]] each have several [[Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)|bus routes]] traveling through McLean, including routes connecting downtown McLean with the McLean Metrorail station.

==Notable people==
{{main|List of people from McLean, Virginia}}
Current or prior residents of McLean include:
*[[Turki Al-Faisal]], former director, [[Saudi Arabia]]'s [[General Intelligence Presidency]]
*[[Bradley Beal]], professional basketball player, [[Phoenix Suns]]
*[[Joe Biden]] and [[Jill Biden]], 46th [[President of the United States|U.S. president]] and [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/22/fact-check-joe-biden-owns-2-homes-pictured-viral-meme/3720570001/|title = Fact check: Biden owns 2 of the 4 homes pictured in a viral meme|website = [[USA Today]]}}</ref> 
*[[Robert Byrd]], longest serving U.S. senator and former [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raju |first=Manu |date=2009-09-22 |title=Byrd admitted to hospital after fall |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2009/09/byrd-admitted-to-hospital-after-fall-027429 |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Vint Cerf]], [[Internet]] pioneer
*[[Dick Cheney]], former [[Vice President of the United States|U.S. vice president]] and [[United States Secretary of Defense|U.S. Secretary of Defense]]<ref name="time">{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1872531,00.html?iid=digg_share|title=As Dick Cheney Prepares to Depart, His Mystery Lingers|first=Michael|last=Duffy|magazine=Time|date=19 January 2009 }}</ref> 
*[[Byron Dorgan]], former Congressman and U.S. Senator
*[[Newt Gingrich]], former [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House of Representatives]] and author
*[[Anthony Kennedy]], former associate justice, [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] 
*[[Patrick Leahy]], former U.S. Senator
*[[Don Nickles]], former U.S. Senator<ref name="ruling">{{cite magazine | last = Crowley | first = Michael | date = September 11, 2006 | title = Welcome to McLean, home of America's ruling class | magazine = The New Republic | url = http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=9050c2ee-cf00-499d-8279-42ebee4a09a4 | access-date  = March 23, 2009}}</ref> 
*[[Alexander Ovechkin]], professional ice hockey player, [[Washington Capitals]]
*[[Otto Porter Jr.]], former [[National Basketball Association]] professional basketball player 
*[[Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud]], former Saudi Arabia ambassador to the U.S.<ref name=ruling/>
*[[James Tiptree Jr.]], former science fiction author
*[[Gore Vidal]], author and political activist<ref name=ruling/>

== References ==
{{commons category-inline|McLean, Virginia}}<br>
{{wikivoyage-inline|McLean (Virginia)}}
{{reflist|30em}}

{{McLean, Virginia}}
{{Fairfax County, Virginia}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclean, Virginia}}
[[Category:McLean, Virginia| ]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Fairfax County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Virginia populated places on the Potomac River]]
[[Category:Washington metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Virginia]]