Chantilly, Virginia 2025

Chantilly is an unincorporated community in western Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. Located 25 miles (40 km) west of Washington, D.C., it hosts many high-tech businesses, including the headquarters of the National Reconnaissance Office.

At the time of the 2010 U.S. Census, the residential population of Chantilly was 4,433. Chantilly is part of a larger Census-designated area (CDP) that includes Centreville and other surrounding communities, with a total population of 71,262.

John B. Conway, a landowner, gave 40 acres (160,000 m2) to be used by the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (W&OD) to construct a railway line from Rosslyn to Warrenton in 1850. Train service began three years later, and Chantilly became a significant shipping point for livestock. During the Civil War, the W&OD was used by both Union and Confederate forces. In 1865, Ulysses S. Grant sent General George Meade and 6,000 Union troops on the W&OD and Fairfax Railroad (now the Frying Pan Farm Park) to destroy Confederate gun batteries near Manassas, commanded by General Robert E. Lee.

In 1854, the U.S. Post Office Department approved a post office at this site, near the intersection of the W&OD and an unpaved road (now Route 50) and named it Chantilly, after an 18th-century hamlet of the same name in France. A small village grew up around the railroad and post office and included a general store, tavern, blacksmith shop, and residence. During the Civil War, the village remained intact, although skirmishes nearby occurred.

By 1900, electricity and water had been introduced, and the area'v population had increased to 300. The Great Depression reduced the population to 100 and the village to a general store, a post office, and a few houses.

Residential growth began in the 1950s, with the construction of several dozen homes, an elementary school, and a commercial shopping center near the historic intersection of Routes 50 and 28. Partly due to the extension of Washington's Metrorail public transit system into nearby Reston in 1986 and the late 1980s and early 1990s, the population grew from approximately 4,500 to an estimated 15,000 by 2000. In 1991, the community opened the Chantilly Regional Library.

Chantilly, which includes residential areas, shopping centers, and commercial, industrial, and office districts, has been a major center for non-retail businesses and home to 11,000 workers as of the 2010 Census.

Chantilly is a commuter town, with many of its residents traveling to Washington, D.C., Reston, or other nearby jurisdictions for work. The local unemployment rate, as of the 2010 Census, was 4.6%, with a median household income of $65,429. Over three-quarters of adults over 25 have high school diplomas or better, and 38% of those aged 25 or older have college degrees.

While Hispanics comprise only 12% of the population, Asians and Pacific Islanders, 17.5%, and blacks, 5.6%, the population is predominantly white. Eighteen percent of the population was under 18.

In terms of transportation, most Chantilly residents travel by car, with the main highways being US 50 and Virginia State Route 28. Several major bus routes connect Chantilly to Washington, D.C. Reston, and Falls Church.

Chantilly is zoned to schools in the Fairfax County Public Schools district. The district operates Chantilly High School. Chantilly's youth are also served by nearby private schools, such as Holy Spirit School.