Virginia is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 37.5605° N, 78.3070° W.

What is the largest city in Virginia?

Virginia Beach is the largest city mapped in Virginia, with a metropolitan population of about 1.49 million.

How many cities are in Virginia?

YearMaps maps 15 cities and towns in Virginia, with a combined metropolitan population of about 4.83 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

What is the highest mountain in Virginia?

The highest summit mapped in Virginia is Mount Rogers at 1,746 m.

What is the largest lake in Virginia?

The largest lake mapped in or beside Virginia is Smith Mountain Lake, at about 152 km².

Virginia Map — Cities & Geography, United States

Interactive Map of Virginia

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About Virginia

Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. It borders Kentucky to the west, Tennessee to the south-west, North Carolina to the south, West Virginia to the north-west, and Maryland to the north. The state's capital is Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach. With a population of 8.8 million, it is the 12th-most populous and 15th-most densely populated state. More than one-third of Virginia's population lives in Northern Virginia, which includes the most populous jurisdiction in the state, Fairfax County.

Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Central Virginia lies predominantly in the Piedmont, the foothill region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's most productive agricultural counties, while the economy in Northern Virginia is driven by technology companies and U.S. federal government agencies. Hampton Roads is also the site of the region's main seaport and Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base.

Virginian history begins with several Indigenous nations, some of which were members of the Powhatan Confederacy. In 1607, the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent English colony in the New World, leading to Virginia's nickname as the Old Dominion. Slaves from Africa and land from displaced native tribes fueled the growing plantation economy, but also fueled conflicts both inside and outside the colony. Virginians fought for the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution, and helped establish the new national government.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Virginia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Virginia in Depth

History

Hunter-gatherers are estimated to have arrived in Virginia around 17,000 years ago. Evidence from Daugherty's Cave shows it was regularly used as a rock shelter by 9,800 years ago. During the late Woodland period (500–1000 AD), farming spread to the region, first corn and squash, then later beans and tobacco arriving from the southwest and Mexico by the end of the period. Palisaded towns began to be built around 1200. The native population in the current boundaries of Virginia reached around 50,000 in the 1500s. Large nations in the area at that time included the tribes of Tsenacommacah such as the Chesapeake, Pamunkey and Chickahominy along the coastline. To their south was the Nottoway and Meherrin with the Tutelo further inland to the west.

Geography

Virginia is located in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States. Virginia has a total area of 42,774.2 square miles (110,784.7 km2), including 3,180.13 square miles (8,236.5 km2) of water, making it the 35th-largest state by area. It is bordered by Maryland and Washington, D.C. to the northeast; by the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina to the south; by Tennessee to the southwest; by Kentucky to the west; and by West Virginia to the northwest. Virginia's boundary with Maryland and Washington, D.C., the low-water mark of the south shore of the Potomac River, has been an issue for water rights.

Virginia's southern border was defined in 1665 as 36°30' north latitude.

Economy

Virginia's economy has diverse sources of income, including local and federal government, military, farming and high-tech. In 2025, Virginia's per capita personal income was $80,291 and the state's gross domestic product (GDP) was $798.4 billion. The COVID-19 recession caused jobless claims due to soar over 10% in early April 2020, returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. In June 2026, the unemployment rate was 3.7%, which was the 22nd-lowest nationwide.

Virginia has a median household income of $89,931, as of 2023, 11th-highest nationwide, and a poverty rate of 10.2%, 10th-lowest nationwide. Montgomery County outside Blacksburg has the highest poverty rate in the state, with 28.5% falling below the U.S. Census poverty thresholds.

Demographics

The 2020 census found the state resident population was 8,631,393, a 7.9% increase since the 2010 census. Another 23,149 Virginians live overseas, giving the state a total population of 8,654,542. Virginia has the fourth-largest overseas population of U.S. states due to its federal employees and military personnel. The fertility rate in Virginia as of 2020 was 55.8 per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 44, and the median age as of 2021 was the same as the national average of 38.8 years old. The geographic center of population is located in Caroline County, as of 2020.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Virginia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

History of Virginia: Empires and States

The atlas records 6 polities whose mapped territory included part of Virginia, from Kingdom of England in 1648 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Virginia, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
Kingdom of England	1648–1708 CE
English Colonial Empire	1648–1712 CE
Haudenosaunee	1673–1701 CE
British Colonial Empire	1709–1774 CE
The British Empire	1709–1774 CE
United States of America	1776–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Virginia

Virginia on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is a state in the South of the United States with nearly 9 million inhabitants.

Bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and the west by the Appalachian mountains, with expanses of farmland in between, Virginia has much to offer history buffs and lovers of scenic landscapes. Virginia's three largest cities are Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Virginia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Virginia

15 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Virginia
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Virginia Beach	1.49 million	Virginia	Populated place
2	Norfolk	1.05 million	Virginia	Populated place
3	Richmond	912,000	Virginia	Admin-1 capital
4	Hampton	366,766	Virginia	Populated place
5	Roanoke	198,171	Virginia	Populated place
6	Fredericksburg	133,134	Virginia	Populated place
7	Alexandria	127,273	Virginia	Populated place
8	Petersburg	118,577	Virginia	Populated place
9	Lynchburg	103,893	Virginia	Populated place
10	Charlottesville	87,925	Virginia	Populated place
11	Blacksburg	67,508	Virginia	Populated place
12	Winchester	53,941	Virginia	Populated place
13	Danville	45,894	Virginia	Populated place
14	Harrisonburg	42,538	Virginia	Populated place
15	Bristol	37,443	Virginia	Populated place

Highest Mountains in Virginia

2 mountains mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Highest Mountains in Virginia
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Mount Rogers	1,746 m	5,728 ft	North America
2	Spruce Knob	1,482 m	4,862 ft	North America

Largest Lakes in Virginia

1 lake mapped. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Largest Lakes in Virginia
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Smith Mountain Lake	152 km²	Reservoir

Ports in Virginia

8 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in Virginia
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Fredericksburg	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
2	Cape Charles	49.4 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
3	West Point	49.4 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
4	Richmond	49.4 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	large vessels
5	Alexandria	45.7 m	Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
6	Warwick	42.1 m	Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
7	Yorktown	34.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	large vessels
8	Newport News	31.1 m	Minor	Atlantic Coast of the United States	large vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Virginia

1 World Heritage Site mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Virginia
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville	1987	Cultural	(i) (iv) (vi)

Virginia: Quick Answers

Where is Virginia?: Virginia is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 37.5605° N, 78.3070° W.
What is the largest city in Virginia?: Virginia Beach is the largest city mapped in Virginia, with a metropolitan population of about 1.49 million.
How many cities are in Virginia?: YearMaps maps 15 cities and towns in Virginia, with a combined metropolitan population of about 4.83 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
What is the highest mountain in Virginia?: The highest summit mapped in Virginia is Mount Rogers at 1,746 m.
What is the largest lake in Virginia?: The largest lake mapped in or beside Virginia is Smith Mountain Lake, at about 152 km².