Virginia’s Contract-Fat Fairfax Digs In for Leaner Years

When Mobil Corp. quit midtown Manhattan for 130 green acres in Fairfax County, Virginia, its new neighbors included country stores, dairy farms and a highway that ringed the nation’s capital. Mobil brought hope that the suburb could break free of its Washington ties to build its own world-class economy.

More than 26 years later, the largest U.S. oil company -- now Exxon Mobil Corp. -- is leaving Fairfax and the county is more dependent upon the U.S. government than ever. Even as prize employers including Volkswagen AG and Hilton Worldwide Inc. opened shop, federal spending as a share of the county’s economy has almost doubled since 2002, to 14.4 percent. Last year, the U.S. funneled more procurement dollars to Fairfax than anywhere else, almost $28 billion.