County facts · Land area · October 22, 2026
Largest Counties in Virginia by Area and Population
The largest Virginia counties by land area and by 2023 population, plus the smallest, county seats and a link to each official parcel map.
Looking for the largest counties in Virginia? Virginia has 95 counties plus 38 independent cities, which sit outside any county and are counted by the Census Bureau as county equivalents. Together they cover about 39,482 square miles of land, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer. The largest by land area is Pittsylvania County, at about 969 square miles, roughly 37 times the size of the smallest, Arlington County (26 sq mi). Measured by people instead, the largest is Fairfax County, with about 1,141,878 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2023 estimate.
The rankings below compare counties with counties. The independent cities are listed in their own section further down, but they are included in the statewide totals.
Each table below links the county's Platbookmapper page and its official parcel viewer, so you can go straight from the numbers to the property lines.
Virginia counties at a glance
- Counties: 95, plus 38 independent cities
- Land area: about 39,482 sq mi, plus about 3,293 sq mi of water inside county lines
- Residents, 2023 estimates: about 8,715,698, or about 221 people per square mile of land
- Median county land area: about 382 sq mi
- With a verified public parcel viewer in our directory: 132 of 133 (19 of them through a statewide viewer)
The 10 largest Virginia counties by land area
| # | County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | People per sq mi | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsylvania County | Chatham | 969 | 59,571 | 61 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 2 | Augusta County | Staunton | 967 | 78,247 | 81 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 3 | Rockingham County | Harrisonburg | 850 | 86,568 | 102 | InteractiveGIS |
| 4 | Halifax County | Halifax | 818 | 33,432 | 41 | WebGIS.net |
| 5 | Bedford County | Bedford | 760 | 81,525 | 107 | InteractiveGIS |
| 6 | Albemarle County | Charlottesville | 720 | 115,676 | 161 | county web map |
| 7 | Franklin County | Rocky Mount | 691 | 55,549 | 80 | CivQuest |
| 8 | Fauquier County | Warrenton | 648 | 75,165 | 116 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 9 | Mecklenburg County | Boydton | 625 | 30,648 | 49 | county web map |
| 10 | Southampton County | Courtland | 599 | 17,975 | 30 | InteractiveGIS |
Together these 10 cover about 19% of Virginia's land area and hold about 7% of its residents.
The 10 most populous Virginia counties
| # | County | Seat | 2023 pop. | Land (sq mi) | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairfax County | Fairfax | 1,141,878 | 391 | county web map |
| 2 | Prince William County | Manassas | 489,640 | 335 | county web map |
| 3 | Loudoun County | Leesburg | 436,347 | 516 | county web map |
| 4 | Chesterfield County | Chesterfield Court House | 383,876 | 424 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 5 | Henrico County | — | 334,760 | 234 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 6 | Arlington County | — | 234,162 | 26 | county web map |
| 7 | Stafford County | Stafford | 165,428 | 269 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 8 | Spotsylvania County | Spotsylvania Courthouse | 149,588 | 401 | county web map |
| 9 | Albemarle County | Charlottesville | 115,676 | 720 | county web map |
| 10 | Hanover County | Hanover Courthouse | 114,148 | 468 | county web map |
A dash in the Seat column means Wikidata lists no current county seat for that county.
These 10 hold about 41% of Virginia's residents in the 2023 estimates.
The 5 smallest Virginia counties by land area
| County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington County | — | 26 | 234,162 | county web map |
| Mathews County | Mathews | 86 | 8,514 | VGIN Virginia Parcels map (Service View) |
| York County | Yorktown | 105 | 70,952 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| Middlesex County | Saluda | 130 | 10,924 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| Lancaster County | Lancaster | 133 | 10,859 | county web map |
A dash in the Seat column means Wikidata lists no current county seat for that county.
Virginia's independent cities
Virginia's 38 independent cities hold about 2,579,473 residents, about 30% of the state, on about 1,660 square miles of land. Each is its own local government, separate from any county, so look up a parcel in one of these cities under the city, not the county next to it. The 10 most populous:
| # | Independent city | 2023 pop. | Land (sq mi) | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of Virginia Beach | 453,649 | 245 | county web map |
| 2 | City of Chesapeake | 253,886 | 338 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 3 | City of Norfolk | 230,930 | 53 | county web map |
| 4 | City of Richmond | 229,247 | 60 | VGIN Virginia Parcels map (Service View) |
| 5 | City of Newport News | 183,118 | 69 | county web map |
| 6 | City of Alexandria | 155,230 | 15 | county web map |
| 7 | City of Hampton | 137,098 | 51 | county web map |
| 8 | City of Suffolk | 100,659 | 399 | Spatialest |
| 9 | City of Roanoke | 97,171 | 43 | WebGIS.net |
| 10 | City of Portsmouth | 96,793 | 33 | ArcGIS Instant Apps |
By land area the biggest is City of Suffolk (about 399 sq mi) and the smallest is City of Falls Church (about 2.0 sq mi).
Most and least crowded
- Most people per square mile: Arlington County, about 9,007 (then Fairfax County, 2,920, and Prince William County, 1,460)
- Fewest people per square mile: Highland County, about 5.6 (then Bath County, 7.7, and Craig County, 15)
Counties with the most water
The Census Bureau reports water separately from land. It counts lakes, reservoirs, rivers and, along a coast or a Great Lake, the water inside the boundary.
- Accomack County: about 861 sq mi of water, 66% of its total area
- Northampton County: about 584 sq mi of water, 73% of its total area
- Mathews County: about 166 sq mi of water, 66% of its total area
Using these numbers in a land search
- Land area is not parcel count. A large rural county can hold fewer parcels than a small suburban one, so size alone says little about how busy its parcel map is.
- Search, don't scroll. In a big county, type an address, owner name or parcel number into the viewer's search box, where it has one, instead of panning across the map.
- Records follow the county line. Deeds, plats and tax bills are kept by the county where the parcel sits (or the independent city), so a tract that crosses a county line usually has a parcel number on each side.
- Rounded figures. Land and water areas are rounded to whole square miles (one decimal for very small places). People per square mile is the 2023 estimate divided by land area.
Related guides
- Virginia county GIS websites by viewer
- Virginia plat maps
- Virginia landowner maps for hunting
- Maryland–Virginia border counties
- North Carolina–Virginia border counties
- Virginia–West Virginia border counties
- Largest county in each state
- Largest counties in the US by land area
More: All Virginia counties on Platbookmapper
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer files, 2020 county land and water area.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county totals, Vintage 2023 (July 1, 2023 estimates)
- Platbookmapper county GIS directory (live data file behind our county pages, pulled October 22, 2026) for each official parcel viewer.
- County seats: Wikidata (county seat property), cross-checked against Census place names.