Virginia Important Cities And Towns

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. As of 2006, 39 of the 42 independent cities in the United States are in Virginia. For a complete list of Virginia independent cities, see: List of cities in Virginia.

Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and the Greater Richmond Region has a population of over 1.3 million people. Richmond, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia are the most populated areas of the state.

Because Richmond is home to both a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a Federal Reserve bank, as well as offices for international firms such as Hunton & Williams, LLP, McGuireWoods LLP, Troutman Sanders LLP, CapitalOne, Philip Morris USA, and numerous other banks and brokerages, Richmond is the only city in Virginia cited as having evidence of being a Global city.[9]

Norfolk is home to the world's largest naval base.

Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the commonwealth, with Norfolk and Chesapeake second and third, respectively. Norfolk forms the urban core of this metropolitan area, which is home to over 1.7 million people.

Although it is not incorporated as a city, Fairfax County is the most populous locality in Virginia, estimated in 2005 to have slightly over one million residents. Fairfax has a major urban business and shopping center in Tysons Corner. It and its western neighbor, Loudoun County are ranked as two of the most affluent counties in the nation. Loudoun County also ranked as the fastest-growing county in the United States.

Some other municipalities are incorporated towns, which are not independent of a county but are located within one of the 95 counties in Virginia. For a complete list of Virginia incorporated towns, see: List of towns in Virginia.

Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. and originally part of the District, is an urban community; it is much like a city but remains organized as a county, and has no towns within its borders. It is the smallest self-governing county in the United States, by land area.

Virginia does not have any political subdivisions, such as villages or townships, for areas of counties that are not within the boundaries of incorporated towns.

There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities (sometimes informally called towns) in Virginia. For a list of important Virginia unincorporated communities, see: List of unincorporated towns in Virginia.

Richmond skyline crossing the Manchester Bridge