Springfield

Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs including North Springfield, West Springfield, and Newington are usually given a Springfield mailing address. The population of the collective areas with Springfield addresses is estimated to exceed 100,000. The area is dominated by the interchange of I-95, I-395, and the Capital Beltway (I-495), known as the Springfield Interchange. The center of the town is at the intersection of Route 644 (Old Keene Mill Road / Franconia Road) and Route 617 (Backlick Road) adjacent to the interchange. It was in existence at the time of the American Civil War, being the site of a skirmish on October 3, 1861 and a Confederate raid on August 3, 1863. The name "Springfield" was reinstated for good on June 27, 1910, although the name Garfield continued to appear on maps at least through the 1930s. In 1950, the area had an estimated 1,000 residents; by 1960, the population was over 10,000; it grew past 25,000 by 1970 with the opening of the Springfield Mall (now Springfield Town Center) in 1973. The Springfield Brookfield shopping center in 1980s became the second regional shopping center after Tysons Corner.

Geography

Springfield is the primary city name, but also N Springfield, North Springfield are acceptable city names or spellings, N Springfld on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is Springfield, Virginia. Springfield is located at 38°4645N 77°114W (38.779238, 77.184636) The area is dominated by the interchange of I-95, I-395, and the Capital Beltway (I-495), known as the Springfield Interchange. The center of the town is at the intersection of Route 644 (Old Keene Mill Road / Franconia Road) and Route 617 (Backlick Road) adjacent to the interchange. A significant commercial district exists around the interchange area, but the rest of the community is primarily residential in character. Springfield collectively has four ZIP codes: Central Springfield, North Springfield, West Springfield and Newington. According to the U.S. Postal Service, the CDP has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20.4 km²) of land and 0.49 square miles of water. The CDP's ZIP codes are Central Springfield (often unofficially referred to as Central Springfield), North Springfield (North Springfield) and West Springfield (West Springfield) The C DP's total area, water area, and land area statistics (in square miles) for the four Springfield zip codes: 20.22151, 22152, 22153, 22154 and 22155. The four Springfield CDP zip codes have a combined population of 1.2 million (1.3 million people). The total CDP area is 20.4 square miles, or 7.3 square miles.

History

Springfield was founded in 1847 around the Orange and Alexandria Railroad's Daingerfield Station. The post office name was changed in 1881 to Garfield to honor the late President James A. Garfield, who had been assassinated that year. In 1950, the area had an estimated population of 1,000; John R. Lewis High School (formerly Robert E. Lee High School) was built in 1957. By 1960, the population was reported as over 10,000. It grew past 25,000 by 1970 with the North and West Springfield neighborhoods. The area became a major retail destination with the opening of the Springfield Mall (now Springfield Town Center) in 197375. The Sydenstricker School, completed in 1928, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. As of the census of 2010, there were 30,484 people, 12,431 houses, and 7,472 families residing in the Springfield CDP. The population density was 3,869.5 people per square mile (1,494.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 48.7% White, 9.0% African American, 0.7%, Native American, 24.3% Asian and 0.1% Pacific Islander, 12.5% from other races, and 4.7%. As of 2000, out of the 10,495 households, 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 337.

Transportation

Central Springfield is dominated by the Springfield Interchange, popularly known as the "Mixing Bowl" or the "Melting Pot", a name taken from an earlier interchange near the Pentagon. The closest airport to Springfield is the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia. Other airports include the Washington Dulles International Airport, located in Chantilly and Sterling, Virginia, as well as Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Maryland. Springfield is home to Washington Metro's Blue Line and BestBus bus lines. The city is also home to Virginia's Virginia Railway Express commuter rail line, which runs from Fairfax to Springfield. It is also the home of Virginia's D.C. Metro's Virginia Rail Yard, which has a station at the Franconia-Springfield station. It also has a Virginia State Rail Yard at the Backlick Road station, which is located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Route 644. The town is located on the eastern edge of the Shenandoah Valley, and is near the Virginia-Maryland border. It was the site of the U.S. Civil War Battle of the Bulge, which took place between 1861 and 1865, and the Battle of Gettysburg in the late 1800s. It has been home to the National Guard since the early 20th century, and has been the location of the National Museum of American History since the 1930s. Springfield was the birthplace of President George W. Bush, who was assassinated in 1968.

Economy

The corporate headquarters of Ensco are physically located in the Ravensworth census-designated place, with a Springfield postal address. The company's headquarters are located in Springfield, Illinois. Ensco is one of the largest employers in the state, with more than 100,000 employees. It is the second largest employer in Illinois, after the state's second-largest employer, the state-owned oil and gas company, ExxonMobil. The state's unemployment rate is the highest in the U.S., at 7.7%. The state has the highest rate of unemployment in the United States, at 8.7 per cent. The unemployment rate was 7.8 per cent in the year ending June 30, 2013. The U.N. unemployment rate for the state was 6.9 per cent, the lowest in the country, and the lowest since the mid-1970s. The national unemployment rate has been below 5 per cent for the past three years. The rate is expected to be below 6 per cent by the end of the year, and it is projected to stay that way for the next three years, according to a recent report by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The city has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation, behind only the state of Illinois, at 6.2 per cent; the national average is 6.4 per cent and the state average is 5.7. The number of people living in poverty is the third-highest in the city. The economy is the fourth-highest.

Education

Public schools in Springfield are run by Fairfax County Public Schools. Some Springfield neighborhoods feed schools outside the census-designated place limits, such as the Lake Braddock, South County, and Hayfield districts. Private schools in the vicinity of Springfield include St. Bernadette School (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington) and the Word of Life Christian Academy. Northern Virginia Community College is located in Springfield. It offers a variety of associates degrees and certificates. Springfield is home to the West Springfield Dance Team, which appeared on the television show America's Got Talent. It is also home to a number of private schools, including Springfield Academy, Iqra Elementary, and Al-Qalam Academy. The Springfield area is served by the Fairfax County School District, which is part of the Virginia Department of Education. It also serves the Prince George's County School System, which serves the northern part of Fairfax County and the southern part of Prince George’s County. The school district also serves parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties, including parts of Prince William County and Fairfax County, as well as the District of Columbia. It was founded in 1872 and is the oldest public school district in the United States. It has been in Fairfax County since 1872. The district is one of the oldest in the state, along with Prince William and D.C. counties. It opened in 1881. It closed in 1883. It reopened in 1894. It still operates as a public school.

Library

The Fairfax County Public Library system operates the Richard Byrd Library. The library is located in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is located on the campus of the University of Virginia's College of Arts and Sciences.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Springfield, Fairfax County, Virginia = 5.7. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 40. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Springfield = 4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 4,756 individuals with a median age of 40.1 age the population grows by 13.63% in Springfield, Fairfax County, Virginia population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,966.9 residents per square mile of area (1,536.2/km²). There are average 2.9 people per household in the 11,888 households with an average household income of $88,705 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 4.50% of the available work force and has dropped -1.99% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 31.52%. The number of physicians in Springfield per 100,000 population = 303.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Springfield = 43.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 7.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 116. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 197. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 24.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 41, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Springfield, Fairfax County, Virginia which are owned by the occupant = 64.76%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 31 years with median home cost = $276,010 and home appreciation of -16.01%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $10.67 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,219 per student. There are 13.2 students for each teacher in the school, 494 students for each Librarian and 274 students for each Counselor. 6.66% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 24.10% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 14.26% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).