WASHINGTON — The Loudoun County Department of Economic Development said it worked with 71 companies that either moved to the county or expanded their operations — contributing $2.3 billion in investments in the county in the most recent fiscal year.
It said that was the most investment earned by any county in Virginia and double the amount of investment earned by Loudoun in 2015, making 2016 a record year for Loudoun County economic development.
Big wins for the county last fiscal year included JK Moving Service’s decision to build a new $55 million headquarters, Airbus Americas’ decision to expand its parts distribution center in Ashburn, and big data center expansions from companies including DuPont Fabros, CyrusOne and Digital Realty.
Loudoun County is the epicenter of data farms. Northern Virginia has surpassed the New Jersey-New York region for data center development, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the U.S. market share in enterprise demand, according to real estate firm JLL.
Other relocations or expansions in 2016 included government contractors FCi Federal and Saab Defense, and startups such as Brickyard, Solebrity and XGility.
In the 12 months through June, Loudoun County had the third highest county employment increase in the country, at 6.3 percent.
Loudoun’s larger next door neighbor had a good year, too.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority said it worked with 136 companies in 2016 that either moved to the county or expanded operations, creating about 3,300 jobs.
