Virginia County Map

How Many Counties Are in Virginia?

Virginia has 95 counties and 38 independent cities, giving it 133 second-level jurisdictions, the third-most of any state. Under Virginia law any municipality incorporated as a city is automatically independent, meaning it belongs to no county, and its residents pay no county taxes and vote in no county elections. Towns work differently and remain part of their county, so Leesburg lies inside Loudoun County and Blacksburg inside Montgomery County. The system dates to the Virginia Constitution of 1870, with the General Assembly formally classifying cities in 1871.

Why Does Virginia Have So Many Independent Cities?

The United States has 41 independent cities and 38 of them are in Virginia. The other three are Baltimore, St. Louis, and Carson City, so Virginia has more than ten times the rest of the country combined. The count has been falling, since Bedford reverted from city to town status in July 2013 and is now a town inside Bedford County, dropping the total from 39 to 38, while South Boston did the same in 1995 and Clifton Forge in 2001. The most recent new independent cities were Manassas, Manassas Park, and Poquoson, all in 1975.

What County Is Virginia Beach In?

Virginia Beach is in no county. It is an independent city and is itself the county-level jurisdiction, which is why the question has no county answer. The city was created in 1963 by merging the small resort town of Virginia Beach with Princess Anne County, and Princess Anne ceased to exist in the process. Several other Hampton Roads cities formed the same way, so Norfolk County disappeared into Chesapeake in 1963, Elizabeth City County into Hampton in 1952, Warwick County into Newport News in 1958, and Nansemond County into Suffolk in 1974.

How Do Fairfax City and Fairfax County Differ?

They are two separate governments. The City of Fairfax became independent in 1961 and is completely surrounded by Fairfax County without being part of it, yet it still serves as the county seat. That arrangement is common in Virginia, and at least thirteen counties are administered from an independent city that lies outside them. Albemarle County is run from Charlottesville, Roanoke County from Salem, Augusta County from Staunton, Rockingham from Harrisonburg, Frederick from Winchester, Rockbridge from Lexington, James City from Williamsburg, and Prince William from Manassas.

Which Virginia Counties Are the Largest and Smallest?

Pittsylvania County, on the North Carolina line with its seat at Chatham, is the largest at 969 square miles of land and 978 square miles of total area. Arlington County is the smallest at 26 square miles, and it is the smallest self-governing county in the United States by land area. Among the independent cities the range is wider still, since Falls Church covers about 2 square miles while Suffolk covers 400, making that single city larger than most Virginia counties. A typical Virginia county falls between roughly 300 and 450 square miles.

Virginia Counties by Population

Fairfax County is the most populous with an estimated 1,160,925 residents in 2024, roughly 13.2 percent of the state total. Highland County, in the mountains on the West Virginia line with its seat at Monterey, is the least populous at an estimated 2,348, and it is the smallest jurisdiction in Virginia including the independent cities. Among the cities, Virginia Beach is the largest at 454,808 and the largest locality of any type in the state, while Norton in far southwest Virginia is the smallest at 3,478. Seven independent cities held fewer than 10,000 residents at the 2020 census.

Which Virginia Counties Are the Oldest?

The House of Burgesses created eight shires in 1634, and the term was quickly replaced by counties. They were James City, Henrico, Charles City, Elizabeth City, Warwick River, Warrosquyoake, Charles River, and Accawmack. Five survive in recognizable form, since James City, Henrico, and Charles City kept their names, Warrosquyoake became Isle of Wight in 1637, and Charles River became York in 1643. Accawmack became Northampton in 1643 and was split in 1663 to create Accomack. Elizabeth City and Warwick were absorbed by the cities of Hampton and Newport News in the 1950s.

What Is Virginia's Newest County?

Dickenson County was created on February 27, 1880 from parts of Buchanan, Russell, and Wise counties, and it is nicknamed the Baby of the Commonwealth. Its seat is Clintwood, and it takes its name from William J. Dickinson, a member of the House of Delegates. The far southwest was the last part of Virginia to be organized, which is why Wise dates only to 1856, Buchanan to 1858, Bland to 1861, and Dickenson to 1880. Counting independent cities, the newest county equivalents are Manassas, Manassas Park, and Poquoson from 1975.

What Is the Dillon Rule and How Does It Affect Virginia Counties?

Virginia is a strict Dillon Rule state rather than a home rule state, so local governments may exercise only powers expressly granted by the General Assembly, powers necessarily or fairly implied by those grants, and powers essential to a locality's declared purposes. Any reasonable doubt about the existence of a power is resolved against the locality. In practice a Virginia county cannot impose a new tax, adopt many regulations, or restructure its own government without enabling legislation from Richmond. Most counties are run by an elected board of supervisors that appoints a professional county administrator, though Arlington uses a five-member County Board under the County Manager Plan adopted in 1930 and Fairfax uses the Urban County Executive Form.

Which Virginia County Is Growing Fastest and Wealthiest?

Loudoun County leads on both counts. It has passed 400,000 residents, adding roughly 30 people a day and growing about 40 percent since 2010, and it added 269,618 residents between 2000 and 2024, more than any other county in the state. Its median household income of $181,765 in 2024 is the highest of any county in the United States, ahead of Santa Clara County and San Mateo County in California, and it has held that position among large counties since 2007. The data center corridor around Ashburn drives the economy, with Amazon, Google, and Verizon all operating major facilities there. Prince William County is second in the state for growth.