Urban Population Growth

Population centers in Virginia are not fixed and immutable, and some of the new urbanized areas (such as Tysons Corner and Reston in Fairfax County) are not even organized as cities or even towns. Some areas of high population density (especially Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach) are also the areas of high population growth, while some urban areas (Richmond, Petersburg, Norfolk, Roanoke) are steadily losing population to the surrounding suburbs.

According to the Rank by Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places, Listed Alphabetically by State: 1790-1990, only once did Virginia have a city that was in the "top 10" of populated areas in the United States.

Three Virginia counties earned a place on a different "top 10" list at the start of the 21st Century. Between 2000-2005, Loudoun, King George, and Caroline counties were in the top 10 of the fastest growing counties in the country - based on the rate of population increase.

The growth of those counties reflected the continued expansion of the metro DC region to create "exurbs" to the west and south, and then convert those exurbs into "suburbs" and ultimately to absorb them into the metropolitan urban core.

Table with row headers in column A and column headers in rows 3 through 5.	Table with row headers in column A and column headers in rows 3 through 5. (leading dots indicate sub-parts)
Cumulative Estimates of Population Change for the United States, States and Counties, and for Puerto Rico - April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005
FIPS Code	.Geographic area	Population estimates			Change, 2004 to 2005		Change, 2000 to 2005
		July 1, 2005	July 1, 2004	April 1, 2000 estimates base	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Population Density	Area (Square Miles)
	United States	296,410,404	293,656,842	281,424,602	2,753,562	0.9	14,985,802	5.3	83.9	3,534,631.6
51	Virginia	7,567,465	7,481,332	7,079,030	86,133	1.2	488,435	6.9	191.3	39,558.4
51001	Accomack County	39,424	39,270	38,305	154	0.4	1,119	2.9	86.6	455.1
51003	Albemarle County	90,717	89,017	84,197	1,700	1.9	6,520	7.7	125.5	722.6
51005	Alleghany County	16,715	16,717	17,215	-2	0.0	-500	-2.9	37.5	445.4
51007	Amelia County	12,273	11,941	11,400	332	2.8	873	7.7	34.4	356.8
51009	Amherst County	32,134	31,912	31,894	222	0.7	240	0.8	67.6	475.2
51011	Appomattox County	13,967	13,936	13,705	31	0.2	262	1.9	41.9	333.7
51013	Arlington County	195,965	197,955	189,453	-1,990	-1.0	6,512	3.4	7560.8	25.9
51015	Augusta County	69,725	68,713	65,615	1,012	1.5	4,110	6.3	72.1	967.1
51017	Bath County	4,937	4,961	5,048	-24	-0.5	-111	-2.2	9.3	529.3
51019	Bedford County	65,286	63,919	60,385	1,367	2.1	4,901	8.1	86.5	754.6
51021	Bland County	6,943	7,010	6,871	-67	-1.0	72	1.0	19.4	358.7
51023	Botetourt County	32,027	31,747	30,496	280	0.9	1,531	5.0	59.2	541.2
51025	Brunswick County	17,920	18,048	18,419	-128	-0.7	-499	-2.7	31.7	566.1
51027	Buchanan County	24,755	25,143	26,978	-388	-1.5	-2,223	-8.2	49.1	503.8
51029	Buckingham County	16,058	15,912	15,623	146	0.9	435	2.8	27.6	580.8
51031	Campbell County	52,339	51,619	51,105	720	1.4	1,234	2.4	103.7	504.5
51033	Caroline County	25,563	24,000	22,121	1,563	6.5	3,442	15.6	48.0	532.5
51035	Carroll County	29,438	29,471	29,245	-33	-0.1	193	0.7	61.8	476.3
51036	Charles City County	7,119	7,117	6,926	2	0.0	193	2.8	39.0	182.8
51037	Charlotte County	12,404	12,348	12,471	56	0.5	-67	-0.5	26.1	475.0
51041	Chesterfield County	288,876	282,470	259,848	6,406	2.3	29,028	11.2	678.9	425.5
51043	Clarke County	14,205	13,840	12,652	365	2.6	1,553	12.3	80.4	176.6
51045	Craig County	5,154	5,173	5,091	-19	-0.4	63	1.2	15.6	329.5
51047	Culpeper County	42,530	40,151	34,262	2,379	5.9	8,268	24.1	111.6	381.3
51049	Cumberland County	9,378	9,171	9,017	207	2.3	361	4.0	31.4	298.5
51051	Dickenson County	16,243	16,212	16,395	31	0.2	-152	-0.9	49.1	330.5
51053	Dinwiddie County	25,391	25,111	24,533	280	1.1	858	3.5	50.4	503.7
51057	Essex County	10,492	10,330	9,989	162	1.6	503	5.0	40.8	257.1
51059	Fairfax County	1,006,529	1,002,488	969,749	4,041	0.4	36,780	3.8	2572.7	391.2
51061	Fauquier County	64,997	63,049	55,145	1,948	3.1	9,852	17.9	100.1	649.6
51063	Floyd County	14,649	14,433	13,874	216	1.5	775	5.6	38.4	381.2
51065	Fluvanna County	24,751	23,835	20,047	916	3.8	4,704	23.5	85.9	288.1
51067	Franklin County	50,345	49,669	47,283	676	1.4	3,062	6.5	72.7	692.1
51069	Frederick County	69,123	66,696	59,209	2,427	3.6	9,914	16.7	166.7	414.6
51071	Giles County	17,098	16,925	16,657	173	1.0	441	2.6	47.8	357.3
51073	Gloucester County	37,787	37,118	34,780	669	1.8	3,007	8.6	173.5	217.8
51075	Goochland County	19,360	18,676	16,863	684	3.7	2,497	14.8	69.0	280.5
51077	Grayson County	16,366	16,446	16,881	-80	-0.5	-515	-3.1	37.0	442.7
51079	Greene County	17,418	17,007	15,244	411	2.4	2,174	14.3	111.2	156.6
51081	Greensville County	11,088	11,015	11,560	73	0.7	-472	-4.1	37.6	295.2
51083	Halifax County	36,284	36,378	37,350	-94	-0.3	-1,066	-2.9	44.3	819.3
51085	Hanover County	97,426	96,019	86,320	1,407	1.5	11,106	12.9	206.2	472.5
51087	Henrico County	280,581	275,962	262,193	4,619	1.7	18,388	7.0	1176.7	238.5
51089	Henry County	56,501	56,875	57,981	-374	-0.7	-1,480	-2.6	147.8	382.3
51091	Highland County	2,475	2,463	2,536	12	0.5	-61	-2.4	6.0	415.2
51093	Isle of Wight County	33,417	32,635	29,728	782	2.4	3,689	12.4	105.8	315.9
51095	James City County	57,525	55,500	48,102	2,025	3.6	9,423	19.6	402.5	142.9
51097	King and Queen Count	6,796	6,757	6,630	39	0.6	166	2.5	21.6	315.2
51099	King George County	20,637	19,342	16,803	1,295	6.7	3,834	22.8	114.7	180.0
51101	King William County	14,732	14,331	13,146	401	2.8	1,586	12.1	53.8	273.9
51103	Lancaster County	11,593	11,561	11,567	32	0.3	26	0.2	87.0	133.3
51105	Lee County	23,686	23,760	23,589	-74	-0.3	97	0.4	54.2	437.1
51107	Loudoun County	255,518	239,325	169,599	16,193	6.8	85,919	50.7	495.6	515.6
51109	Louisa County	30,020	28,797	25,627	1,223	4.2	4,393	17.1	60.4	497.3
51111	Lunenburg County	13,194	13,118	13,146	76	0.6	48	0.4	30.6	431.7
51113	Madison County	13,398	13,115	12,520	283	2.2	878	7.0	41.7	321.4
51115	Mathews County	9,194	9,158	9,207	36	0.4	-13	-0.1	107.0	85.9
51117	Mecklenburg County	32,529	32,462	32,380	67	0.2	149	0.5	52.1	623.9
51119	Middlesex County	10,493	10,442	9,932	51	0.5	561	5.6	80.5	130.3
51121	Montgomery County	84,303	83,901	83,681	402	0.5	622	0.7	217.2	388.2
51125	Nelson County	15,101	14,950	14,445	151	1.0	656	4.5	32.0	472.3
51127	New Kent County	16,107	15,500	13,462	607	3.9	2,645	19.6	76.9	209.5
51131	Northampton County	13,548	13,337	13,093	211	1.6	455	3.5	65.3	207.4
51133	Northumberland Count	12,874	12,801	12,268	73	0.6	606	4.9	67.3	191.3
51135	Nottoway County	15,560	15,550	15,725	10	0.1	-165	-1.0	49.5	314.6
51137	Orange County	30,246	28,838	25,881	1,408	4.9	4,365	16.9	88.8	340.5
51139	Page County	23,831	23,649	23,177	182	0.8	654	2.8	76.6	311.1
51141	Patrick County	19,209	19,202	19,407	7	0.0	-198	-1.0	39.8	483.1
51143	Pittsylvania County	61,854	61,790	61,745	64	0.1	109	0.2	63.7	970.8
51145	Powhatan County	26,598	25,823	22,377	775	3.0	4,221	18.9	102.2	260.2
51147	Prince Edward County	20,455	20,202	19,720	253	1.3	735	3.7	58.0	352.8
51149	Prince George County	36,725	36,462	33,108	263	0.7	3,617	10.9	138.5	265.1
51153	Prince William Count	348,588	336,525	280,813	12,063	3.6	67,775	24.1	1032.4	337.6
51155	Pulaski County	35,081	35,104	35,127	-23	-0.1	-46	-0.1	109.4	320.6
51157	Rappahannock County	7,271	7,155	6,983	116	1.6	288	4.1	27.3	266.7
51159	Richmond County	9,114	9,093	8,800	21	0.2	314	3.6	47.6	191.5
51161	Roanoke County	88,172	87,511	85,726	661	0.8	2,446	2.9	352.1	250.4
51163	Rockbridge County	21,242	21,078	20,808	164	0.8	434	2.1	35.5	597.6
51165	Rockingham County	71,251	70,151	67,714	1,100	1.6	3,537	5.2	83.9	849.0
51167	Russell County	28,949	28,857	29,258	92	0.3	-309	-1.1	61.0	474.7
51169	Scott County	22,962	23,000	23,403	-38	-0.2	-441	-1.9	42.8	536.6
51171	Shenandoah County	39,184	38,070	35,075	1,114	2.9	4,109	11.7	76.5	512.2
51173	Smyth County	32,640	32,531	33,081	109	0.3	-441	-1.3	72.2	452.1
51175	Southampton County	17,585	17,397	17,482	188	1.1	103	0.6	29.3	599.6
51177	Spotsylvania County	116,549	111,805	90,395	4,744	4.2	26,154	28.9	290.8	400.9
51179	Stafford County	117,874	114,513	92,446	3,361	2.9	25,428	27.5	436.0	270.4
51181	Surry County	7,013	6,990	6,829	23	0.3	184	2.7	25.1	278.9
51183	Sussex County	12,071	12,167	12,504	-96	-0.8	-433	-3.5	24.6	490.2
51185	Tazewell County	44,795	44,634	44,598	161	0.4	197	0.4	86.2	519.7
51187	Warren County	35,556	34,494	31,578	1,062	3.1	3,978	12.6	166.4	213.7
51191	Washington County	52,085	51,786	51,103	299	0.6	982	1.9	92.5	562.9
51193	Westmoreland County	17,227	16,987	16,718	240	1.4	509	3.0	75.1	229.3
51195	Wise County	41,997	41,840	42,195	157	0.4	-198	-0.5	103.9	404.0
51197	Wythe County	28,421	28,090	27,599	331	1.2	822	3.0	61.4	463.2
51199	York County	61,758	60,804	56,297	954	1.6	5,461	9.7	584.6	105.6
51510	Alexandria city	135,337	136,635	128,283	-1,298	-0.9	7,054	5.5	9008.6	15.0
51515	Bedford city	6,211	6,222	6,299	-11	-0.2	-88	-1.4	902.4	6.9
51520	Bristol city	17,335	17,345	17,367	-10	-0.1	-32	-0.2	1343.9	12.9
51530	Buena Vista city	6,437	6,506	6,349	-69	-1.1	88	1.4	960.2	6.7
51540	Charlottesville city	40,437	40,745	40,088	-308	-0.8	349	0.9	3940.3	10.3
51550	Chesapeake city	218,968	214,830	199,184	4,138	1.9	19,784	9.9	642.5	340.8
51570	Colonial Heights cit	17,567	17,465	16,897	102	0.6	670	4.0	2336.2	7.5
51580	Covington city	6,205	6,277	6,303	-72	-1.1	-98	-1.6	1134.7	5.5
51590	Danville city	46,143	46,473	48,411	-330	-0.7	-2,268	-4.7	1071.6	43.1
51595	Emporia city	5,587	5,585	5,665	2	0.0	-78	-1.4	810.4	6.9
51600	Fairfax city	21,963	21,989	21,498	-26	-0.1	465	2.2	3522.8	6.2
51610	Falls Church city	10,781	10,574	10,377	207	2.0	404	3.9	5384.0	2.0
51620	Franklin city	8,594	8,450	8,346	144	1.7	248	3.0	1028.9	8.4
51630	Fredericksburg city	20,732	20,776	19,279	-44	-0.2	1,453	7.5	1971.1	10.5
51640	Galax city	6,676	6,628	6,837	48	0.7	-161	-2.4	811.3	8.2
51650	Hampton city	145,579	145,001	146,437	578	0.4	-858	-0.6	2811.4	51.8
51660	Harrisonburg city	40,438	40,645	40,453	-207	-0.5	-15	0.0	2315.1	17.5
51670	Hopewell city	22,690	22,401	22,277	289	1.3	413	1.9	2207.6	10.3
51678	Lexington city	6,776	6,800	6,867	-24	-0.4	-91	-1.3	2713.8	2.5
51680	Lynchburg city	66,973	66,268	65,228	705	1.1	1,745	2.7	1356.0	49.4
51683	Manassas city	37,569	37,626	35,135	-57	-0.2	2,434	6.9	3780.1	9.9
51685	Manassas Park city	11,622	11,469	10,290	153	1.3	1,332	12.9	4716.9	2.5
51690	Martinsville city	14,925	14,911	15,368	14	0.1	-443	-2.9	1362.3	11.0
51700	Newport News city	179,899	181,917	180,697	-2,018	-1.1	-798	-0.4	2634.2	68.3
51710	Norfolk city	231,954	237,347	234,403	-5,393	-2.3	-2,449	-1.0	4317.5	53.7
51720	Norton city	3,677	3,797	3,918	-120	-3.2	-241	-6.2	487.9	7.5
51730	Petersburg city	32,604	32,764	33,756	-160	-0.5	-1,152	-3.4	1422.0	22.9
51735	Poquoson city	11,811	11,673	11,566	138	1.2	245	2.1	761.2	15.5
51740	Portsmouth city	100,169	99,404	100,565	765	0.8	-396	-0.4	3020.7	33.2
51750	Radford city	14,575	14,667	15,859	-92	-0.6	-1,284	-8.1	1484.5	9.8
51760	Richmond city	193,777	193,915	197,952	-138	-0.1	-4,175	-2.1	3225.8	60.1
51770	Roanoke city	92,631	92,570	94,911	61	0.1	-2,280	-2.4	2176.2	42.6
51775	Salem city	24,654	24,507	24,747	147	0.6	-93	-0.4	1707.6	14.4
51790	Staunton city	23,337	23,065	23,853	272	1.2	-516	-2.2	1186.0	19.7
51800	Suffolk city	78,994	76,529	63,677	2,465	3.2	15,317	24.1	197.5	400.0
51810	Virginia Beach city	438,415	439,224	425,257	-809	-0.2	13,158	3.1	1765.9	248.3
51820	Waynesboro city	21,269	20,826	19,520	443	2.1	1,749	9.0	1397.6	15.2
51830	Williamsburg city	11,751	11,486	11,998	265	2.3	-247	-2.1	1371.6	8.6
51840	Winchester city	25,119	24,862	23,585	257	1.0	1,534	6.5	2691.0	9.3

In 2000-2005, the population of Virginia increased 6.9%, up 488,435 people to 7,567,465 total population in the state. However, population growth was not consistent acriss the state - and 20 counties in Virginia (21% of the counties in the state, out of 95 total) actually lost population.

The Virginia counties with declining populations between 2000-2005 were far from the metro areas of Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads:

total population growth/decline in Virginia 2000-2005

rate of population growth/decline in Virginia 2000-2005

Before you decide that everyone is migrating from the rural areas to the cities, however, note that more than 50% of the cities in Virginia (20 out of 39) also lost population between 2000-2005. The cities losing population were located all across the state... except in Northern Virginia:

total population growth/decline in United States, 2000-2005

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rate of population growth/decline in United States, 2000-2005

Source: Bureau of Census, Cumulative Estimates of Population Change
for the United States, States and Counties, and for Puerto Rico - April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005

Urban Areas of Virginia