List of cities and counties in Virginia

File:Virginia-Year of established.svg

Virginia counties and cities by year of establishment

The Commonwealth of Virginia is divided into 95 counties, along with 38 independent cities that are considered county-equivalents for census purposes, totaling 133 second-level subdivisions. In Virginia, cities are co-equal levels of government to counties, but towns are part of counties. For some counties, for statistical purposes, the Bureau of Economic Analysis combines any independent cities with the county that it was once part of (before the legislation creating independent cities took place in 1871).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Many county seats are politically not a part of the counties they serve; under Virginia law, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent cities and are not part of any county. Some of the cities in the Hampton Roads area, including Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Hampton, and Suffolk were formed from an entire county. These cities are no longer county seats, since the counties ceased to exist once the cities were completely formed but are functionally equivalent to counties. Also in Virginia, a county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County and is completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county.

File:Virginia population map.png

Map showing the population density of Virginia

Many towns are as large as cities but are not incorporated as cities and are situated within a parent county or counties. Seven independent cities had 2020 populations of less than 10,000 with the smallest, Norton having a population of only 3,687.<ref name="VaPop">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2020, the largest towns were Leesburg (with 48,250 people) and Blacksburg (44,826). Six other towns also had populations of over 10,000 people.<ref name="VaPop"/> For a complete list of these towns, see List of towns in Virginia. For major unincorporated population centers, see List of unincorporated communities in Virginia.

Virginia's independent cities were classified by the Virginia General Assembly in 1871 as cities of the first class and cities of the second class.<ref name="2ndClass">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Virginia Constitution of 1902 defined first class cities as those having a population of 10,000 or more based upon the last census enumeration while second class cities were those that had a population of less than 10,000.<ref name="2ndClass"/> Cities that previously been granted a city charter, but did not have the requisite population, had their status grandfathered in.<ref name="2ndClass"/>

Second class did not have a court of record and were required to share the cost of that court with their adjacent county and also shared the cost for three constitutional officers of that court—generally, the clerk, commonwealth attorney and sheriff—and those shared officers stood for election in both the city and the county.<ref name="2ndClass"/> At least two constitutional officers—treasurer and commissioner of the revenue—were required to be elected solely by the residents of the city.<ref name="2ndClass"/> The distinction between first and second class cities was ended with the Virginia Constitution of 1971.<ref name="2ndClass"/> However, cities that were classified as second class cities at the time of the adoption of the 1971 Virginia Constitution were authorized to continue sharing their court system and three constitutional officers with the adjacent county.<ref name="2ndClass"/> Template:As of, 14 of Virginia's independent cities retain these features.<ref name="2ndClass"/>

There are several counties and cities that have the same name but are separate politically. These currently include Fairfax, Franklin, Richmond, and Roanoke. In the past they also included Norfolk and Alexandria, whose counties changed their names, ostensibly to end some of the confusion; as well as Bedford, where a city was surrounded by a county of the same name from 1968 until 2013, when the city reverted to town status. A city and county that share a name may be completely unrelated in geography. For example, Richmond County is nowhere near the City of Richmond, and Franklin County is even farther from the City of Franklin.

More Virginia counties are named for women than in any other state.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Virginia's postal abbreviation is VA and its FIPS state code is 51.

List of the 95 counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia (links shown under FIPS County Code are for the U.S. Census Bureau Statistics Info Page for that county):

List of counties

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List of independent cities

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File:Virginia- Largest cities.svg Top 10 most populated cities in Virginia (2010)

File:Virginia-Density.svg Virginia counties and cities by population density (population/ square mile) in 2015

File:Virginia-Population.svg Virginia counties and cities by population in 2010

Smithsonian trinomial abbreviations

List of county abbreviations

The counties have the following Smithsonian trinomial abbreviations:<ref name="County List">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Code	County name		Code	County name		Code	County name		Code	County name
AC	Accomack		CU	Cumberland		KQ	King and Queen		PU	Pulaski
AG	Alleghany		DK	Dickenson		KW	King William		PW	Prince William
AH	Amherst		DW	Dinwiddie		LA	Lancaster		RA	Rappahannock
AL	Albemarle		ES	Essex		LE	Lee		RB	Rockbridge
AM	Amelia		FD	Frederick		LD	Loudoun		RC	Richmond
AP	Appomattox		FL	Floyd		LO	Louisa		RH	Rockingham
AR	Arlington County		FQ	Fauquier		LU	Lunenburg		RO	Roanoke
AU	Augusta		FR	Franklin		MA	Madison		RU	Russell
BA	Bath		FV	Fluvanna		MI	Middlesex		SC	Scott
BD	Bedford		FX	Fairfax		MK	Mecklenburg		SH	Shenandoah
BK	Buckingham		GI	Giles		MO	Montgomery		SM	Smyth
BL	Bland		GL	Gloucester		MT	Mathews		SO	Southampton
BO	Botetourt		GO	Goochland		NK	New Kent		SP	Spotsylvania
BR	Brunswick		GR	Greene		NL	Nelson		ST	Stafford
BU	Buchanan		GV	Greensville		NO	Northampton		SU	Surry
CA	Carroll		GY	Grayson		NT	Nottoway		SX	Sussex
CB	Campbell		HE	Henry		NU	Northumberland		TZ	Tazewell
CC	Charles City		HI	Highland		OR	Orange		WA	Washington
CG	Craig		HN	Hanover		PA	Page		WE	Westmoreland
CH	Chesterfield		HR	Henrico		PE	Prince Edward		WI	Wise
CK	Clarke		HX	Halifax		PG	Prince George		WR	Warren
CL	Caroline		IW	Isle of Wight		PK	Patrick		WY	Wythe
CP	Culpeper		JC	James City		PO	Powhatan		YO	York
CR	Charlotte		KG	King George		PT	Pittsylvania

List of independent city abbreviations

The counties have the following Smithsonian trinomial abbreviations:<ref name="County List"/>

Code	City name		Code	County name		Code	County name		Code	County name
ALX	Alexandria		BRI	Bristol		BVA	Buena Vista		CHA	Charlottesville
CHE	Chesapeake		CHS	Colonial Heights		COV	Covington		DAN	Danville
EMP	Emporia		FAX	Fairfax		FAL	Falls Church		FRK	Franklin
FRD	Fredericksburg		GAL	Galax		HAM	Hampton		HAR	Harrisonburg
HOP	Hopewell		LEX	Lexington		LYN	Lynchburg		MAN	Manassas
MAP	Manassas Park		MAR	Martinsville		NN	Newport News		NOR	Norfolk
NRT	Norton		PET	Petersburg		POQ	Poquoson		POR	Portsmouth
RAD	Radford		RIC	Richmond		ROA	Roanoke		SAL	Salem
STA	Staunton		SUF	Suffolk		VAB	Virginia Beach		WAY	Waynesboro
WIL	Williamsburg		WIN	Winchester

Largest cities

• VirginiaBeach.jpg

  Virginia Beach, the largest city in Virginia

• Great Dismal Swamp Canal.jpg

  Chesapeake, the second-largest city

• Richmond, Virginia skyline 01.jpg

  Richmond, the capital and third-largest city

• Skyline of Downtown Norfolk Looking Towards Portsmouth.jpg

  Norfolk, the fourth-largest city

• Downtown Newport News.jpg

  Newport News, the fifth-largest

• Alexandria & GW Masonic Memorial Fall 2015.jpg

  Alexandria, the sixth-largest

• Hampton Marinas - panoramio (12).jpg

  Hampton, the seventh-largest city

• Downtown Suffolk, VA.jpg

  Suffolk, the eighth-largest city

• Roanoke City (Virginia) from Mill Mountain Star at Dusk.jpg

  Roanoke, the ninth-largest city

• US Navy 030820-N-9851B-011 Tug boats guide USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) up the Elizabeth River, past Portsmouth landmarks.jpg

  Portsmouth, the tenth-largest city

Fictional counties

• The 2016 supernatural horror film The Autopsy of Jane Doe is set in Grantham County, located close to the city of Richmond.
• The Netflix drama miniseries Echoes takes place in Easton County and the county seat of Mt. Echo.

• The historical drama TV series The Waltons is set in Jefferson County, specifically in the fictional community of Walton's Mountain.

See also

• List of towns in Virginia
• Administrative divisions of Virginia
• List of counties of Kentucky
• List of counties of West Virginia
• List of former counties, cities, and towns of Virginia

Further reading

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