Editing Virginia (section)

===Cities and towns===
{{See also|Political subdivisions of Virginia|Virginia statistical areas}}
[[File:Population density of Virginia counties (2020).png|thumb|upright=1.35|The population density of Virginia counties and cities as of 2020|alt=Map of Virginia counties colored by population density, ranging from pale yellow, to green, to dark blue.]]
Virginia is divided into 95{{nbsp}}[[List of counties in Virginia|counties]] and 38{{nbsp}}[[independent city (United States)|independent cities]], which the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] describes as [[county-equivalent]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-local-geo-guides-2010/virginia.html |title= Virginia Basic Information |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |date= June 25, 2018 |access-date= June 5, 2020}}</ref> This general method of treating cities and counties on par with each other is unique to Virginia and stretches back to the influence of [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] and [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] in the colonial period.{{sfn|Library of Virginia|1994|pp=183}} Only three other [[Independent city (United States)#Other states|independent cities]] exist elsewhere in the US.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/opinion/article/unique-structural-issues-make-progress-in-virginia-difficult/201616/|title=Unique structural issues make progress in Virginia difficult|date=September 28, 2009|first=Bernie|last=Niemeier|work=Virginia Business|access-date=October 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511132428/http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/opinion/article/unique-structural-issues-make-progress-in-virginia-difficult/201616/|archive-date=May 11, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The differences between counties and cities in Virginia are small and have to do with how each assess new taxes, whether a referendum is necessary to issue bonds, and with the application of [[Dillon's Rule]], which limits the authority of cities and counties to countermand acts expressly allowed by the [[Virginia General Assembly|General Assembly]].<ref name=arlcity>{{cite news |url= https://wamu.org/story/17/07/14/no-longer-county-boy-arlington-official-says-county-become-city/ |title= No Longer A County Boy: Arlington Official Says County Should Become A City |date= July 14, 2017 |access-date= April 21, 2021 |first= Martin |last= Austermuhle |website= WAMU 88.5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/why-arlington-and-fairfax-cant-tax-plastic-bags--and-why-that-might-change/2019/12/09/0913fd32-1544-11ea-9110-3b34ce1d92b1_story.html |title= Virginia Democrats poised to relax Dillon Rule |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= December 10, 2019 |first= Patricia |last= Sullivan |access-date= June 7, 2020}}</ref> Counties can also have [[List of towns in Virginia|incorporated towns]], and while there are no further [[Administrative divisions of Virginia|administrative subdivisions]], the Census Bureau recognizes several hundred [[List of unincorporated communities in Virginia|unincorporated communities]].

Over three million people, 35% of Virginians, live in the twenty jurisdictions collectively defined as [[Northern Virginia]], part of the larger [[Washington metropolitan area]] and the [[Northeast megalopolis]].<ref name=msa>{{cite web |url= https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html |title= Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020–2023 |website= U.S. Census Bureau |date= March 11, 2024 |access-date= June 24, 2024 |ref=CITEREFMSA}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/all-hail-the-northeast-megalopolis-the-census-bureau-region-home-to-roughly-1-in-6-americans/3226966/ |title=  All Hail the Northeast Megalopolis, the Census Bureau Region Home to Roughly 1 in 6 Americans |website= NBC4 Washington |first= Maggie |last= More |date= December 6, 2022 |access-date= December 9, 2022}}</ref> [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]], with more than 1.1{{nbsp}}million residents, is Virginia's most populous jurisdiction,<ref name=wapo2018pop>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/virginias-growth-is-most-robust-in-washington-suburbs/2018/01/25/8de356f0-0134-11e8-93f5-53a3a47824e8_story.html|title=Virginia's population growth is most robust in Washington suburbs|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 25, 2018|access-date=May 6, 2020|first=Antonio|last=Olivo}}</ref> and has a major urban business and shopping center in [[Tysons, Virginia|Tysons]], Virginia's largest office market.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://wtop.com/business-finance/2017/08/booming-tysons-looming-problem/ |website= WTOP |title= Booming Tysons, looming problems: Office vacancies, traffic headaches and more |first= Jeff |last= Clabaugh |date= August 9, 2017 |access-date= June 7, 2020}}</ref> Neighboring [[Prince William County, Virginia|Prince William County]], with over 450,000&nbsp;residents, is Virginia's second-most populous county and home to [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]], the [[FBI Academy]], and [[Manassas National Battlefield Park]]. [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]] is the smallest self-governing county in the U.S. by land area,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/22/AR2005112202165_pf.html|title=Silent Streams|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Mary|last=Battiata|date=November 27, 2005|access-date=April 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012131623/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/22/AR2005112202165_pf.html|archive-date=October 12, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> and local politicians have proposed reorganizing it as an independent city due to its high density.<ref name=arlcity/> [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun County]] is the fastest-growing county in the state.<ref name=wapo2018pop/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2019/12/loudoun-county-one-of-the-fastest-growing-in-the-country/|title=Loudoun County one of the fastest growing in the country|first=Kyle|last=Cooper|work=WTOP|date=December 31, 2019|access-date=May 6, 2020}}</ref> In western Virginia, [[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]] city and [[Montgomery County, Virginia|Montgomery County]], part of the [[Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area]], both have surpassed a population of 100,000 since 2018.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/new-population-estimates-montgomery-county-passes-roanoke/article_b4ad525d-96ad-55dd-978b-d82f58db46c0.html |title= New population estimates: Montgomery County passes Roanoke |first= Yann |last= Ranaivo |newspaper= The Roanoke Star |date= January 31, 2020 |access-date= May 6, 2020}}</ref>

On the western edge of the [[Tidewater (region)|Tidewater region]] is Virginia's capital, [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], which has a population of around 230,000 in its city proper and over 1.3{{nbsp}}million in its metropolitan area. On the eastern edge is the [[Hampton Roads]] metropolitan area, where over 1.7{{nbsp}}million reside across six counties and nine cities, including the Commonwealth's three most populous independent cities: [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]], [[Chesapeake, Virginia|Chesapeake]], and [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]].<ref name=msa/><ref name=agesex>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=0400000US51,51$0500000&y=2021&tid=ACSST1Y2021.S0101&moe=false&tp=true|title=American Community Survey: Age and Sex|website=U.S. Census Bureau|date=July 1, 2021|access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref> Neighboring [[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]], which includes a portion of the [[Great Dismal Swamp]], is the largest city by area at {{convert|429.1|sqmi|km2}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.suffolkva.us/1065/History |title=All About Suffolk |publisher=[[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]] |date=February 12, 2007 |access-date=February 19, 2008}}</ref> One reason for the concentration of independent cities in the Tidewater region is that several rural counties there re-incorporated as cities or consolidated with existing cities to try to hold on to their new suburban neighborhoods that started [[suburbanization|booming in the 1950s]], since cities like Norfolk and [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]] were able to annex land from adjoining counties until a moratorium in 1987.<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://www.virginialawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/1551.pdf |last= Roberts |first= David K |title= Separate, but Equal? Virginia's 'Independent' Cities and the Purported Virtues of Voluntary Interlocal Agreements |journal= Virginia Law Review |volume= 95 |number= 6 |year= 2009 |pages= 1551–97 |access-date= May 7, 2024}}</ref> Others, like [[Poquoson, Virginia|Poquoson]], became cities to try to preserve [[racial segregation]] during the desegregation era of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://wydaily.com/our-community/2022/03/10/why-do-we-call-it-poquoson/ |title= Why Do We Call It... Poquoson? |first= Nancy |last= Sheppard |newspaper= WYDaily |date= March 10, 2022 |access-date= May 7, 2024}}</ref>

{{Largest cities
| country = Virginia
| kind = Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas
| stat_ref = [[#CITEREFMSA|U.S. Census Bureau MSA Population Estimates 2023]]
| list_by_pop = Virginia statistical areas
| city_1 = Northern Virginia
| pop_1 = 3,154,735
| img_1 = Rosslyn aerial view, September 2018.JPG
| city_2 = Hampton Roads
| pop_2 = 1,727,503
| img_2 = NorfolkAerial4 (38666135182).jpg
| city_3 = Greater Richmond Region{{!}}Richmond
| pop_3 = 1,349,732
| img_3 = Richmond, Virginia - Facing Northwest (32004147783).jpg
| city_4 = Roanoke metropolitan area{{!}}Roanoke
| pop_4 = 314,314
| img_4 = Roanoke Virginia.jpg
| city_5 = Lynchburg metropolitan area{{!}}Lynchburg
| pop_5 = 264,590
| city_6 = Charlottesville, Virginia metropolitan area{{!}}Charlottesville
| pop_6 = 225,127
| city_7 = Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area{{!}}Blacksburg–Christiansburg
| pop_7 = 181,428
| city_8 = Harrisonburg metropolitan area{{!}}Harrisonburg
| pop_8 = 137,650
| city_9 = Staunton–Waynesboro metropolitan area{{!}}Staunton–Waynesboro
| pop_9 = 127,344
| city_10 = Winchester, VA–WV MSA{{!}}Winchester
| pop_10 = 123,611
| city_11 = Danville, Virginia{{!}}Danville
| pop_11 = 101,408
| city_12 = Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area{{!}}Bristol
| pop_12 = 92,290
| city_13 = Martinsville, Virginia{{!}}Martinsville
| pop_13 = 63,465
| city_14 = Tazewell, Virginia{{!}}Tazewell
| pop_14 = 39,120
| city_15 = Lake of the Woods, Virginia{{!}}Lake of the Woods
| pop_15 = 38,574
}}