Virginia Counties Map: Click All 95 Counties

How many counties are in Virginia?

Virginia's independent cities are county equivalents: the Census Bureau counts them the same way it counts counties, for a total of 133. Eight states have more counties than Virginia's 95.

Virginia has 95 counties and 38 independent cities, and the cities belong to no county at all. Richmond, the capital, is one of those independent cities, so it isn't in any county. Most of the cities are too small to tap on a statewide map, so this quiz covers the 95 counties and shows the cities in gray.

How Virginia's counties were formed

Virginia's first eight shires were created in 1634, including Henrico, James City and Charles City, which still exist. As settlers pushed west, Virginia's counties once stretched all the way to the Mississippi, and Kentucky and West Virginia were carved from them. Dickenson County, created in 1880, is the newest. Independent cities have been separate from counties since the 1871 constitution, and three have given up city status: South Boston (1995), Clifton Forge (2001) and Bedford (2013).

Virginia regions and the counties in each

Virginia has five regions. Tidewater is the coastal plain, including the Middle Peninsula, the Northern Neck and the Eastern Shore. The Piedmont, in the middle, includes Albemarle (Charlottesville) and the Richmond-area counties of Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover. Northern Virginia is Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington. The Shenandoah Valley, between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies, includes Frederick, Shenandoah, Rockingham and Augusta, and Southwest Virginia covers the mountain counties from Montgomery to Lee.

Notable places on the Virginia county map

Mount Rogers, the state's highest point at 5,729 feet, sits on the line between Grayson and Smyth counties. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607, is in James City County. George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, is in Fairfax County, Arlington National Cemetery is in Arlington County, and Shenandoah National Park runs along the Blue Ridge through eight counties.

Virginia counties map: the biggest and smallest

Pittsylvania County is the largest county in Virginia, with 969 square miles of land, about 2% of the state. Arlington County is the smallest, at 26 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Arlington County (26 sq mi), Mathews County (86 sq mi) and York County (105 sq mi).

Which counties in Virginia have the most people?

Fairfax County has the most people, about 1,160,925 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 13% of everyone in Virginia. The three biggest counties together hold 24% of the state's 8,811,195 people. Highland County has the fewest, about 2,348.

The most crowded is Arlington County, with about 9,223 people per square mile. The emptiest is Highland County, with about 6 people per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Richmond in?

Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is an independent city, so it isn't part of any county. It sits between Henrico and Chesterfield counties. Virginia is called the Old Dominion, and it became the 10th state in 1788.

Counties on the Virginia border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Virginia shares a border with Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

How Virginia's counties compare with other states

Virginia ranks 37th among the 50 states in land area and 12th in population. Its average county covers about 297 square miles and holds about 92,749 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Virginia's counties are smaller than usual in size. Small counties pack more names into the same space, so zooming in helps.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Virginia

• Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William counties form Northern Virginia, next to Washington, D.C.
• Accomack and Northampton counties are the Eastern Shore, across the Chesapeake Bay.
• Lee County is the far western tip, near Kentucky and Tennessee.

With 95 counties, work one region at a time: study it with names on, then take a Practice round and stop when you've found that group. Then print the Virginia county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 95 Virginia counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

Virginia geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the Southeast states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see virginia homeschool laws, and check virginia school choice to see whether a program may help pay for Virginia history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.