Greater Richmond Region


The Greater Richmond Region, also known as the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the area as the Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area used by the U.S. Census Bureau and other entities. The OMB defines the area as comprising 17 county-level jurisdictions, including the independent cities of Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell, and Colonial Heights. As of 2020, it had a population of 1,314,434, making it the 44th largest MSA in the country.
The Greater Richmond Region is located in the central part of Virginia. It straddles the Fall Line, where the coastal plain and the Piedmont come together on the James River at Richmond and the Appomattox River at Petersburg. The English established each as a colonial port in the 17th century. The Greater Richmond Metro region is considered to be the southern extension of the Northeast megalopolis.

Political subdivisions and communities

Independent cities

Since a state constitutional change in 1871, all incorporated cities in Virginia have been independent cities and are not legally located in any county. The OMB considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents to define MSAs in Virginia. Each MSA is listed by its counties, then cities, each in alphabetical order and not by size.
The area includes four independent cities :
  • Richmond
  • Petersburg
  • Hopewell
  • Colonial Heights
The three smaller cities are located near each other in an area south of Richmond and are known collectively as the "Tri-Cities".

Counties

The following counties are included in the Richmond MSA:
The Richmond-Petersburg metropolitan area includes many unincorporated towns and communities.
Note: This is only a partial listing.
  • Amelia Court House
  • Atlee
  • Bon Air
  • Centralia
  • Chester
  • Chesterfield
  • Disputanta
  • Enon
  • Ettrick
  • Fair Oaks
  • Fort Gregg-Adams
  • Glen Allen
  • Highland Springs
  • Lakeside
  • Laurel
  • Matoaca
  • Mechanicsville
  • Midlothian
  • Montrose
  • Moseley
  • New Bohemia
  • Prince George
  • Sandston
  • Short Pump
  • Solomons Store
  • Tuckahoe
  • Varina
  • Winterpock

    Population

The Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes three other cities and adjacent counties, is home to approximately 1.3 million Virginians or 15.1% of Virginia's population. The Richmond region is growing steadily, adding nearly 400,000 residents in the past two decades. This has resulted in major suburban sprawl, particularly in Henrico and Chesterfield Counties, which have populations over 300,000. This also resulted in boosts in its economy, the building of malls, more national attention, and major sporting events and concerts coming to Richmond. Its arts and culture scene has also seen a major gain, with the building or renovations of many new arenas, including the Landmark Theater, Carpenter Center, CenterStage, and the creation of an art walk, the First Fridays Art Walk, occurring on the first Friday of every month on Broad Street in Downtown Richmond, drawing crowds of over 20,000 people. The population has seen its ups and downs, with the city of Richmond itself dropping down to 197,790 as of the 2000 census but rising back to 233,665 by the 2024 estimate.
The region is located approximately equidistant from Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Charlottesville. The area is home to the state's center of gravity of population—which, in 1980, was located thirty miles west of Richmond near the Powhatan-Goochland County border.
The median age for the MSA was 36.7 years. For people reporting one race alone, 66 percent were White; 30 percent were Black or African American; less than 0.5 percent were American Indian and Alaskan Native; 2.75 percent were Asian; less than 0.5 percent were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 1 percent were some other race. One percent reported two or more races. Three percent of the people in the Richmond/Petersburg MSA were Hispanic. Sixty-three percent of the people in the Richmond/Petersburg MSA were White non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race. The median house income for the MSA was $59,468. The median family income was $65,289. The Per Capita income was $27,887. In 2004, seven percent of people were in poverty. Poverty status is determined by the U.S. Census Bureau and is based on family composition, size, and income level. In the Richmond/Petersburg MSA, nine percent of children under age 18 were below the poverty line, and eight
percent of people 65 years old and over were below the poverty line. Five percent of all
families, and 15 percent of families with a female householder and no husband present had incomes below the poverty level. The unemployment rate was 4.6%.
In 2004, there were 397,000 households in the Richmond/Petersburg MSA. The average household size was 2.6 people.
In 2004, 85 percent of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school, and 33 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Among people 16 to 19 years old, nine percent were not in school; they were not enrolled and had not graduated from high school.
County2024 Estimate2020 CensusChangeAreaDensity
Chesterfield County--
Henrico County--
Richmond City--
Hanover County--
Prince George County--
Petersburg City--
Powhatan County--
Dinwiddie County--
Goochland County--
New Kent County--
Hopewell City--
King William County--
Colonial Heights City--
Amelia County--
Sussex County--
King and Queen County--
Charles City County--
Total--

Transportation

Travel and tourism

Expressways and Interstate highways

Several of the most heavily traveled highways in the state transverse the area, which includes the junctions of Interstate 64, and Interstate Highways 85 and 95. A comprehensive network of Interstate bypasses and spurs and several non-interstate expressways also serve the area. Tolls fund several of these local roads, although tolls have long been removed from the area's first limited access highway, the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, which opened in 1958 and now forms a portion of I-95 and I-85. I-295 opened in 1992. It was the last segment of Virginia's interstate system, forming an eastern bypass of Richmond and Petersburg.

Railway network

The Richmond-Petersburg region is also located along several major rail lines operated by CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and the Buckingham Branch Railroad.
The area has four passenger stations served by Amtrak:
The Department of Rail and Public Transportation of the State of Virginia has studies underway for extending high-speed passenger rail service to the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads areas with a rail connection at Richmond to service along both the Northeast Corridor and the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.
Another project, known as Transdominion Express, would extend from Richmond west to Lynchburg and from Washington, DC south via an existing Virginia Railway Express route to Manassas, extending on south to Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke and Bristol on the Tennessee border.

Sea and airport facilities

An international deepwater terminal is located at the Port of Richmond on the James River which is navigable for shipping to Hampton Roads, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Richmond International Airport is located in Henrico County, five miles east of the city center. The airport serves domestic destinations, primarily in the Midwest, South, and Northeast, and as recently as the 2010s, it served international destinations, including Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas.
In recent years, it has seen remarkable growth in demand, adding non-stop routes such as San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Phoenix–Sky Harbor, with seasonal routes to Providence and Minneapolis/St. Paul, among other destinations.