Falls Church, Virginia

Falls Church, Virginia
Downtown Falls Church
Location of Falls Church in Virginia
Falls Church highlighted red in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Falls Church
Falls Church
Falls Church
Coordinates: 38°53′09″N 77°10′20″W / 38.88583°N 77.17222°W / 38.88583; -77.17222
Country United States
State Virginia
Settledc. 1699
Incorporated (town)1875
Incorporated (city)1948
Government
 • TypeCouncil–manager
 • MayorLetty Hardi
Area
 • Total
2.05 sq mi (5.30 km2)
 • Land2.05 sq mi (5.30 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
325 ft (99 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
14,658
 • Density7,160/sq mi (2,770/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
22040, 22042, 22044, 22046
Area codes703 and 571
FIPS code51-27200
GNIS feature ID1495526
Websitefallschurchva.gov
Sister city is Kokolopori, Democratic Republic of Congo

Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is part of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of 2020, it has a median household income of $146,922, the second-highest household income of any county in the nation behind Loudoun County, Virginia.

Taking its name from the Falls Church, an 18th-century parish of the Church of England, later the Episcopal Church, Falls Church gained township status within Fairfax County in 1875.

In 1948, it seceded from Fairfax County and was incorporated as the City of Falls Church, an independent city with county-level governance status although it is not nominally a county.

The city's corporate boundaries do not include all of the area historically known as Falls Church; these areas include portions of Seven Corners and other portions of the current Falls Church postal districts in Fairfax County and Arlington County, known as East Falls Church, which was part of the town of Falls Church from 1875 to 1936. For statistical purposes, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the City of Falls Church with Fairfax City and Fairfax County.

At 2.11 square miles (5.5 km2), Falls Church is the smallest incorporated municipality in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the smallest county-equivalent municipality in the United States.