In 1956 the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors formed an advisory group on economic development called the Industrial Development Commission. This group existed until 1964 when the Virginia General Assembly acted to create the Fairfax County Industrial Development Authority. The legislature changed the name to the Economic Development Authority in 1973.^[5] Acting on concerns about population increases and funding of county services, the Board of Supervisors in the late 1970s tasked the FCEDA with its mission to create a business retention and attraction campaign that formed the basis of the EDA's current programs and purpose.

In his book Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945-2005 (The MIT Press, 2008), Paul E. Ceruzzi summarizes two critical events in the history of Fairfax County economic development: the production of the "Noman Cole Report" and the first salvo in what would become an international advertising strategy executed by the Economic Development Authority.

Ceruzzi explains that in 1976 the newly elected chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Jack Herrity, commissioned a blue ribbon panel for the purpose of examining the county's existing ordinances and policies related to industrial development and growth. The panel, named for its chairman, Noman Cole, produced a report entitled the "Committee to Study the Means of Encouraging Industrial Development in Fairfax County".

The Board of Supervisors charged the Economic Development Authority with developing a business attraction and retention program. Earle Williams, one of the contributors to the report, joined the FCEDA Commission around this time and argued for a large increase in the authority's marketing budget. As part of the marketing strategy, the authority bought a two-page ad in The Wall Street Journal, the cost of which was beyond anything that group had ever done, as Ceruzzi notes,.^[6] These early forays into advertising were preludes to what would become a robust global advertising effort that would establish Fairfax County as a "brand" unto itself.

The combined impact of pro-growth policies and the attraction and retention campaign (led by the FCEDA advertising program) would prompt Time magazine columnist Justin Fox in 2007 to call Fairfax County "one of the great economic success stories of our time".^[7]

Also in 2007, a study called the Long Island Index compared the satisfaction of residents of Long Island and northern Virginia around subjects including local taxes and public services. The survey found that 89 percent of Fairfax County residents were satisfied with the quality of local services and that nearly two out of three northern Virginia residents (Fairfax and Loudoun counties) were satisfied with the value of their property taxes in terms of what they receive in local services. The study also found that 91 percent of Fairfax or Loudoun residents rate their counties as good places to live. Residents in the Virginia counties ranked services, governance and quality of life much higher than did residents of Long Island.^[8]

Since the turn of the century, the FCEDA has made diversification of the county economy one of its major goals. Balancing this employment base with companies not reliant on government procurement became an even more imperative goal in light of federal spending cuts following the Great Recession of 2007 and 2008.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2010, FCEDA launched a new advertising campaign.^{[citation needed]}

• FCEDA Website