South Riding is a census-designated place and planned community in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The South Riding homeowner association was founded in January 1995 to provide services to the community. Neighboring U.S. Route 50 and State Route 28 provide access to the Dulles/Reston/Tysons Corner technology corridor and other major employment centers in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

In 2020, the population was 33,877. In 2019, the United States Census Bureau estimated it to be 31,515.

In January 1995, the Declarant of developers who owned the land established South Riding Proprietary as a not for profit corporation, as a way of providing services to residents of what became South Riding. In 2009, South Riding Proprietary was granted 501(c)(4) status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Proprietary continues to own and govern South Riding.

Parks, recreation, and community activities are managed by the Dulles South Recreation & Community Center, located along Riding Center Drive. The center is home to, among other activities, a climbing wall, a competitive pool, a leisure pool, a senior center, and facilities which can be rented.

South Riding features numerous green spaces, with around 6 miles of trails.

South Riding is home to South Riding Golf Club, designed by golf course architect Dan Maples, and opened in 1997. It was voted one of the "Top 100 Courses in the Mid-Atlantic" by the Washington Golf Monthly Magazine, and was voted "Best New Course" by Golf Digest in 1998.

South Riding has several pools, including South Riding Center Pool, Meadows Pool, Town Hall Pool, and the Hyland Hills Swimming Pool and Splash Park, as well as the indoor pools at the Dulles South Recreation & Community Center.

South Riding is less than a mile south of U.S. Route 50, which connects the town to Chantilly and Virginia State Route 28 in the east. South Riding is crossed by four other major roads: Virginia State Route 2200 (Tall Cedars Parkway) in the center, Virginia State Route 742 (Poland Road) in the center, Virginia State Route 606 (Loudoun County Parkway) slightly to the west, Virginia State Route 659 (Gum Spring Road), which forms the town's western border, Virginia State Route 609, Virginia State Route 620, which forms the town's southern border, and Virginia State Route 28. The Fairfax County line forms the town's eastern border.

South Riding is served by the East Gate bus station in the Town Center, which serves and is the eastern terminus of the 88 route. The 88 route connects the town to settlements further west along U.S. Route 50, including Stone Ridge.

Residents in South Riding, can even catch international flights at Dulles Airport only 10 miles from town.

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South Riding is located in southeastern Loudoun County. Neighboring communities are Arcola and Dulles to the north, Stone Ridge to the west, Conklin to the south, Schneider Crossroads to the southeast, and Chantilly in Fairfax County to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the South Riding CDP has a total area of 6.9 square miles (17.9 km), of which 0.1 square miles (0.2 km), or 1.05%, are water. The community is drained by Elklick Run, a south-flowing tributary of Cub Run and part of the Bull Run watershed flowing south to the Occoquan River and eventually the tidal Potomac River.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, South Riding has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Climate data for South Riding, Virginia, 1990–present normals, extremes 1970–present

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	75 (23)	79 (26)	89 (31)	93 (33)	97 (36)	102 (38)	105 (40)	104 (40)	99 (37)	94 (34)	84 (28)	79 (26)	105 (40)
Average high °F (°C)	42.5 (5.8)	46.4 (8)	55.5 (13)	66.7 (19.2)	75.1 (23.9)	83.8 (28.7)	87.9 (31)	86.6 (30.3)	79.4 (26.3)	68.2 (20.1)	57.5 (14.1)	46 (7.7)	66.3 (19)
Average low °F (°C)	23.9 (-4.5)	26 (-3.3)	32.9 (0.5)	42.1 (5.6)	51.2 (10.6)	61 (16.1)	65.5 (18.6)	64.2 (17.8)	56.3 (13.5)	43.8 (6.5)	35.3 (1.8)	27.1 (-2.7)	44.1 (6.7)
Record low °F (°C)	-18 (-27)	-14 (-25)	-1 (-18)	17 (-8)	28 (-2)	36 (2)	41 (5)	38 (3)	30 (-1)	15 (-9)	9 (-12)	-4 (-20)	-18 (-27)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	2.7 (68)	2.7 (68)	3.4 (86)	3.5 (88)	4.6 (115)	4 (101)	3.7 (93)	3.5 (88)	3.9 (99)	3.3 (83)	3.4 (86)	3 (76)	41.5 (1054)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	7.3 (18.5)	7.6 (19.3)	2.8 (7.1)	0.3 (0.7)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0.5 (1.2)	3.5 (8.8)	22 (55.8)
Average precipitation days	10	9	11	11	12	11	11	9	9	8	9	10	119
Average snowy days	4	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	10

South Riding is a census-designated place in Loudoun County; therefore, schools, roads, and law enforcement are provided by the county.

South Riding is owned and governed by the not for profit South Riding Proprietary. All persons who purchase residential property in South Riding are automatically members of the Proprietary, and are subject to dues, which cannot be severed unless the property is sold. By the governing documents, members are subject to responsibilities, and are granted rights and privileges. The Proprietary is headquartered at Town Hall on Center Street, and is led by General Manager Kristi Felouzis.

The board of directors is the executive branch of the community government, led by the President, currently Steve Pasquale, and the Vice President, currently Michael Hardin. There are seven members elected by residents. As stated by the governing documents, the Board's responsibilities include, "developing the annual budget and setting assessments, promulgating and enforcing rules and regulations, administering the architectural scheme of the community and regulating exterior appearance of the homes and providing for the necessary personnel and contractual services to maintain all commonly owned property and facilities". The Board of Directors also establishes committees which handle specific issues. The board meets monthly at the South Riding Center.

South Riding lies entirely within Virginia's 10th congressional district, currently represented in Congress by Representative Jennifer Wexton (D-Leesburg). It is represented by Karrie Delaney (D-Centreville) in the state House of Delegates, and by John J. Bell in the state Senate.

South Riding lies within the distribution zone for two national newspapers, the Washington Post, and the Washington Times, as well as for the local Loudoun Times-Mirror. South Riding is also covered by AOL's Patch service's Chantilly division.

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As a part of Loudoun County, South Riding is served by Loudoun County Public Schools and private schools. South Riding has one high school, Freedom High School, serving the entire town. Middle schoolers in South Riding attend either J. Michael Lunsford Middle School or Mercer Middle School.

• Hutchison Farm Elementary School
• Cardinal Ridge Elementary
• Little River Elementary School
• Pinebrook Elementary
• Liberty Elementary School

• Montessori School of South Riding
• Everbrook Academy of South Riding
• Minnieland Academy at South Riding
• Kiddie Academy of South Riding
• The Madame Curie School of Science & Technology
• ALOHA Mind Math of South Riding
• East Gate Montessori School
• The Goddard School of Chantilly
• Winwood Children's Center
• C2 Education of South Riding
• South Riding KinderCare
• Primrose School of South Riding
• Huntington Learning Center of South Riding
• South Riding Learning Center

• St. Paul VI Catholic High School

South Riding is served by Gum Spring Library, a branch of Loudoun County Public Library in Stone Ridge.

As of 2021, South Riding has a median household income of $170,456.

South Riding, Virginia – Racial and Ethnic Composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	13,019	13,555	53.67%	40.01%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,506	2,409	6.21%	7.11%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	39	47	0.16%	0.14%
Asian alone (NH)	6,995	13,161	28.84%	38.85%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	10	27	0.04%	0.08%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	44	149	0.18%	0.44%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	837	1,866	3.45%	5.51%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,806	2,663	7.45%	7.86%
Total	24,256	33,877	100%	100%

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	22,982		—
2018 (est.)	31,071		35.2%

As of the 2022 census: White 41.4%, Black 9.9%, Asian 35.3%, Hispanic 9.0%. Between 2010 and 2022, the White population decreased by more than 30%, Asians increased by more than 20% and Latinos decreased by 0.9%. The age breakdown of the town is 6.0% under 5 years old, 30.3% under 18 years old, and 65 years or older around 5.3% and from the total population 49.0% are females.

The population per square mile in 2010 was 3,516.1 but 10 years later, in 2020, this increased to 4,949.2.

• Kevin Paredes (born 2003) – professional soccer player, United States international, and Olympian

• South Riding Proprietary, homeowners' association
• Information on South Riding businesses and activities
• Dulles South
• Schools serving South Riding
  • Little River Elementary School
  • Hutchison Farm Elementary School
  • Liberty Elementary School
  • Pinebrook Elementary School
  • Mercer Middle School
  • Lunsford Middle School
  • Freedom High School
  • Champe High School
  • Saint Paul VI Catholic High School