LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County's newly adopted $5.4 billion budget will add nearly 200 county positions, pour billions into schools and transportation projects and increase local housing investments as officials begin preparing for slower revenue growth in the years ahead.
The fiscal 2027 budget, which took effect July 1, adds 188 positions across 18 county departments. It also includes a six-year, $4.3 billion capital improvement program covering county government and school projects.
While the budget highlights new facilities and services, county officials also describe it as the beginning of a longer-term effort to restrain spending growth. Loudoun expects decades of rapid population growth to eventually give way to slower growth — and potentially slower revenue increases — in the early 2030s.
Here are five things Loudoun residents should know about the fiscal 2027 budget.
More than half of Loudoun's locally generated General Fund tax dollars go toward schools.
For every dollar in local tax funding, the county estimates 52 cents goes to schools. Another 11 cents supports public safety and judicial administration, while 7 cents goes toward general government administration.
The county's $3.2 billion general fund allocates about $1.5 billion to Loudoun County Public Schools, covering operating and capital funding. Personnel represents another $789.2 million in General Fund spending.
Public school enrollment has begun leveling off after years of substantial growth. Enrollment stood at 80,517 students in fiscal 2026, according to the budget document.
Transportation accounts for the largest share of Loudoun's six-year capital improvement program.
About 41 percent of capital spending, or $1.8 billion, is devoted to transportation projects, followed by $1.3 billion for county projects and $1.2 billion for schools.
Road projects alone account for roughly $1.3 billion in six-year spending. Other major categories include:
The capital plan is financed largely through debt, with about $2.4 billion coming from debt financing and another $1.2 billion from local tax funding.
Loudoun County's workforce will grow as new facilities open and existing services expand.
Among the additions highlighted in the budget are 48 firefighters, 26 uniformed employees, a medical director for the Adult Detention Center, nine zoning enforcement positions and new health, behavioral health and social services employees.
The county also plans staffing connected to new parks, libraries, recycling services and transportation programs.
Altogether, Loudoun County will have about 5,485 full-time-equivalent county employees under the adopted budget.
Loudoun County plans to contribute about $29 million to its Housing Fund in fiscal 2027, continuing a steep increase in local housing spending.
That's up from $6.1 million in fiscal 2023 and $27.8 million last year. The fiscal 2027 contribution includes a $26 million General Fund transfer and about $3 million in cigarette tax revenue.
Beginning this year, the county is dedicating all cigarette tax revenue to a program helping eligible residents with down payments and closing costs.
County housing investments have helped finance 10 developments totaling more than 1,100 units, while another four developments containing more than 600 units are under review. Loudoun's longer-term goal is to create or preserve 16,000 attainable housing opportunities by 2040.
The budget arrives as Loudoun remains one of Virginia's fastest-growing counties.
Its population is projected to reach 465,884 in fiscal 2027, making it Virginia's fourth-most-populous county. But county projections show population growth gradually slowing over the next two decades.
That change is driving what Loudoun calls its "Pathway to Stabilization," an effort to prepare county services and spending for slower population, development and revenue growth.
County Administrator Tim Hemstreet said fiscal 2027 marks the beginning of the Board of Supervisors' decision to constrain budget growth ahead of an anticipated slowdown in revenue growth in the early 2030s.
For comparison, Loudoun's 2026 real estate tax rate was 80.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, lower than the rates listed for Prince William, Arlington, Fairfax and Alexandria. The county's vehicle tax rate was $3.09 per $100 of assessed value, and officials said the 2027 rate was expected to be reduced further.
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