McLean, Virginia

McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The community's population was 50,773 at the 2020 census. The community itself was founded in 1910, when the communities of Lewinsville and Langley merged.

Geography

McLean is located on the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) in Northern Virginia, central McLean is northwest of downtown Washington, D.C., and northeast of Fairfax, the county seat.

The community lies in the Piedmont upland on the west bank of the Potomac River. 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.

As an 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 communities of Langley, Lewinsville, and West McLean. It borders several other Washington suburbs including: Potomac and Cabin John, Maryland, to the north; Brookmont, Maryland, to the northeast; Arlington to the southeast; Falls Church to the south; Idylwood, Pimmit Hills, and Tysons to the southwest; Wolf Trap to the west; and Great Falls to the northwest.

McLean has a humid climate (Cfa) and is in hardiness zone 7a.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+McLean CDP, Virginia – Racial composition

!Race (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!2010

!2000

!1990

!1980

|White alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |64.7% (32,845)

|75.4% (36,273)

|81.3% (31,667)

|84.8% (32,372)

|89.9% (32,039)

|Black alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2% (996)

|1.8% (851)

|1.5% (602)

|1.7% (635)

|0.9% (303)

|American Indian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.1% (30)

|0.1% (48)

|0.1% (29)

|0.1% (56)

|0.1% (39)

|Asian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |21% (10,658)

|14.9% (7,156)

|10.6% (4,124)

|<td rowspan="2"> |9.1% (3,488)

|<td rowspan="2"> |4.8% (1,717)

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0% (17)

|0% (14)

|0% (12)

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.7% (353)

|0.3% (145)

|0.2% (81)

|0% (14)

|0.4% (159)

|Multiracial (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.6% (2,856)

|2.7% (1,293)

|2.2% (850)

|—

|Hispanic/Latino (any race)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.9% (3,018)

|4.9% (2,335)

|4% (1,564)

|4.2% (1,603)

|3.9% (1,385)

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, McLean had a population of 50,773. The median age was 45.3 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.1 males age 18 and over.

There were 17,044 households in McLean, of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 71.5% were married-couple households, 8.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 17.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 33,455 || 65.9%

| Black or African American || 1,030 || 2.0%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 70 || 0.1%

| Asian || 10,686 || 21.0%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 27 || 0.1%

| Some other race || 710 || 1.4%

| Two or more races || 4,795 || 9.4%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 3,018 || 5.9%

2010 census

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 individuals, and 10.3% had someone who was 65 or older living alone. The average household size was 2.80, and the average family size was 3.17. 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+. Many businesses in neighboring 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 headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency is located in the 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.

Arts and culture

Fairfax County Public Library operates the Dolley Madison Library in McLean.

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. MLL's girls' All-Star softball team has been the Little League Softball World Series runner-up twice, in 2004 and in 2013. The Mount Daniel School Park, operated by The City of Falls Church, is physically within the McLean CDP. Clemyjontri Park opened in 2006.

Education

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.

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, Oakcrest School, Saint Luke Catholic School, Saint John School, Brooksfield Montessori, The Montessori School of McLean, and The Country Day School.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways and roads

The Capital Beltway, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Interstate 66, Dulles Access Road, Dolley Madison Boulevard/Chain Bridge Road, Georgetown Pike, and Old Dominion Drive all run through McLean.

Subways and buses

The Washington Metro's Silver Line is southwest of downtown McLean. Both the Silver and Orange lines physically enter the borders in between East Falls Church and West Falls Church. The McLean station on the 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 station on the Silver Line, which also has a McLean address.

WMATA (Metrobus) and Fairfax Connector each have several bus routes traveling through McLean, including routes connecting downtown McLean with the McLean Metrorail station.