List of cities and counties in Virginia explained

Independent cities and Counties of Virginia
Territory:	Commonwealth of Virginia
Current Number:	95 Counties 38 Independent cities 133 Second-level subdivisions
Population Range:	(Counties): 2,339 (Highland) – 1,141,878 (Fairfax) (Independent cities): 3,492 (Norton) – 453,649 (Virginia Beach)
Area Range:	(Counties): (Arlington) – (Pittsylvania) (Independent cities): (Falls Church) – (Suffolk)
Government:	County government
Subdivision:	(Counties): cities, towns, unincorporated communities, census designated place (Independent cities): Borough, Neighborhood

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). ^[1]

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.There are 38 independent cities, which are considered county-equivalents for census purposes.

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.^[2] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[3] Cities that previously been granted a city charter, but did not have the requisite population, had their status grandfathered in.^[3]

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.^[3] At least two constitutional officers—treasurer and commissioner of the revenue—were required to be elected solely by the residents of the city.^[3] The distinction between first and second class cities was ended with the Virginia Constitution of 1971.^[3] 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.^[3], 14 of Virginia's independent cities retain these features.^[3]

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.^[4]

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):

Clickable map

List of counties

List of independent cities

Smithsonian trinomial abbreviations

List of county abbreviations

The counties have the following Smithsonian trinomial abbreviations:^[5]

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