Arlington County, Virginia is located on the south bank of the Potomac River in the northern portion of the state. The County is exactly across the river from Washington, D.C.
It was over 200 years ago, when the United States government had some land donated to them by the Commonwealth of Virginia. This land later became part of the new district capital. During 1801, the US Congress named the region Alexandria County and organized it as a subdivision of the District of Columbia. Forty-five years afterward, unresolved controversies over Congressional representation and the issue of slavery forced Congress to return the land to Virginia. The county's name was eventually changed to Arlington.
Situated southeast of Arlington County is the City of Alexandria, that is a city which borders the county of Fairfax and the City of Falls Church to the southwest. Arlington County by total land area, is the smallest self-governing county within the country. There are no incorporated townships within its area of 67 km2. The United States Census Bureau includes the county of Arlington for statistical purposes as a municipality in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
The county of Arlington has one of the highest-incomes of any county within the USA. The head office of numerous federal government departments and agencies are located within the county of Arlington, because of its nearness to Washington, D.C. across the river. The Pentagon, the Department of Defense, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research are all located within Arlington, along with various federal agencies, government contractors and service industries. The majority of office space in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor is occupied by government agencies and contractors.
The head office of other key federal agencies within the county, comprise the National Science Foundation, Foreign Service Institute, Office of Naval Research, Transportation Security Administration, United States Marshals Service, the United States Trade and Development Agency and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
There are a large number of tourists that come to Arlington County to visit national memorials. The Pentagon Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Marine Corps War Memorial and the United States Air Force Memorial are all situated here.
There is a very low unemployment rate in Arlington, with a 2009 jobless rate of 4.2%. There are more than 200,000 jobs within the county of Arlington. Over 25 percent of these jobs are provided by federal, state or local government. Professional and technical jobs account for 19 percent, and accommodation, food and other services account for approximately 30% of jobs.