Administrative divisions of Virginia

The administrative divisions of Virginia are the different areas that make up the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. These divisions help the state organize its government and manage its affairs. Some of these areas are run by local governments, while others are not. But all local governments—like counties, independent cities, and towns—are parts of the state’s overall structure.

In 2022, a special count called the Census of Governments showed that Virginia had fewer local governments than most other states. In fact, Virginia came in 44th out of the 50 states, with a total of 522 local government groups working together. This helps Virginia keep things organized while still giving local areas some control over their own matters.

Counties

Main article: List of counties in Virginia

Virginia is divided into 95 counties. These counties cover all areas that are not part of independent cities. The number of people living in each county varies a lot. In 2022, some counties had as few as 2,301 people, like Highland County, while others had over a million, like Fairfax County.

Because Virginia does not have civil townships and towns cover only small areas, counties are the main local government for many places. This includes both rural areas and busy places without their own town governments, such as Tysons Corner. For example, Arlington County is small and fully urban but has no separate town government, so the county board runs everything there.

Cities and towns

Independent cities

Main article: List of cities in Virginia

Since 1871, all cities in Virginia are called independent cities. This makes Virginia different from other U.S. states. Out of 41 independent cities in the United States, 38 are in Virginia. The other three are in Baltimore, Maryland, St. Louis, Missouri, and Carson City, Nevada. Cities in Virginia work like unitary authorities in some countries. The United States Census Bureau counts all Virginia cities as county-equivalents.

Smaller areas within a county can become cities if they have at least 5,000 people. Cities can also form when a whole county becomes a city or when several local governments join together.

Towns

Main article: List of towns in Virginia

Unlike cities, incorporated towns in Virginia are inside counties. Towns need at least 1,000 people to form. Like cities, towns must ask the state legislature for permission to become a town.

Powers of municipalities

Local governments in Virginia can only do what state or federal law allows them to do. They can make rules to keep people safe, collect taxes, borrow money, hire workers, and buy or sell property. They cannot collect income taxes but can charge fees for certain jobs.

Both cities and towns have public duties like policing and education, and private duties like organizing fairs. They must follow strict rules when making local laws, including giving notice and holding public meetings before passing them.

Zoning

Every city and town must keep a map showing what each piece of land can be used for. They need a special officer to handle zoning rules and a board to solve zoning problems. This board can allow special uses of land under certain conditions. Decisions can be appealed in court.

Eminent domain and inverse condemnation

Local governments can take private property if they prove it is for a public need, like building government offices or utilities. They must pay the fair market value for the land. If they only take part of a property, they must also pay for any loss in value of the rest. People can challenge the payment amount or seek compensation if government actions lower their property value.

School divisions

Main article: List of school divisions in Virginia

A school division is an area managed by a school board. In Virginia, these school divisions are not separate from local governments like they are in many other states. This is because they cannot collect taxes on their own. Instead, they rely on money from the city, town, or county they are linked to. They may also get extra money from the state and federal government.

Special districts, agencies

Virginia has special districts and agencies, though they are usually less important than in other states. As of June 2012, there were 193 special-district governments, along with many other special agencies.

Some examples include:

• The Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority, which built and ran a road until 1973.
• The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District, which built and operates a long bridge-tunnel crossing the Chesapeake Bay.
• The Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, which helps manage recycling and waste for several areas.
• Airport authorities, like the one that runs an airport in Newport News.
• The Virginia Housing Development Authority, which helps people in Virginia find affordable homes.

Although a transit authority serves areas in Virginia, it is counted as part of the District of Columbia for statistics.

Other political subdivisions

Magisterial districts, election districts, and wards

Main article: List of magisterial districts in Virginia

Magisterial districts, election districts, and wards are smaller areas set up for voting and some local tasks. They are not separate local governments.

Boroughs

Under Code of Virginia § 15.2-3534, when several local areas join to become one big city, that city can be split into parts called "boroughs". These boroughs are not separate local governments.

For example, Chesapeake has six boroughs, including one for the old city of South Norfolk and others for areas of the old Norfolk County. Suffolk has seven boroughs, with one for the old city of Suffolk and others for parts of the old Nansemond County. In Virginia Beach, the boroughs were removed on July 1, 1998.

Villages

In Virginia, villages are areas with borders set to stop animals from moving freely. Villages need at least 300 people and are made by asking the court in the county where they are.

Potential political subdivisions

State law says that when several local areas join, old areas can stay as townships (different from civil townships in other states), tier-cities, or shires. But none have been made yet.

Abolished political subdivisions

The 1870 Constitution of Virginia said counties should be split into townships, but a change in 1874 turned those into magisterial districts.

Relationships, regional cooperation

In Virginia, different areas can work together and with the state and federal government, much like people or businesses can work together. But there are some rules about sharing information, bidding for contracts, and using government property.

Recently, Virginia has encouraged these areas to work more closely. For example, special funding for regional jails has helped encourage this. However, some laws and past experiences have made it difficult for these areas to cooperate fully.

Annexations, alternatives

Independent cities in Virginia have been able to grow by taking over parts of neighboring counties and towns. This process, called annexation, has been used for many years. Sometimes it leads to disagreements and long legal battles, leaving people in the affected areas feeling they had no say in what happened.

In the middle of the 20th century, many areas in southeastern Virginia changed from counties and towns to independent cities. This happened mostly in the Hampton Roads region, where eight of the ten current independent cities are next to each other. Some very old towns and counties, some more than 250 years old, were dissolved during this time. These changes created unusual situations, like parts of the Great Dismal Swamp being inside cities and Virginia Beach becoming the state's largest city, even though it doesn't look like a typical big city.

Annexations have often caused tension between neighboring areas, especially between cities and counties. This is because cities and counties need to keep working together after an annexation, while towns and counties already understand they must continue their cooperation.

The city of Richmond has often grown by taking land from nearby Henrico and Chesterfield counties. In 1964, after a long court case, Richmond was allowed to take a small part of Henrico County. Later, in 1970, Richmond and Chesterfield made a compromise where Richmond took a part of Chesterfield County. This caused many people to be very unhappy, as they had not voted on the change and felt their area was taken over. The schools in the taken area had to join Richmond's school system, which was dealing with court cases about fairness in education.

To prevent more of these conflicts, Virginia has made some changes. A state agency works to help local governments get along. Some cities and counties have made agreements to share money to avoid annexations. State laws now protect some counties from being taken over by large cities. In 1987, Virginia put a stop to future annexations, though some protections for certain counties remain.

Legal liability of subdivisions and their employees

When a local government in Virginia makes a promise to do something, it can only do what its rules allow. If it promises to do something it can't, that promise isn't valid, and the other party can't make the government follow through. Employees of the government can't make promises that the government can't keep, and they usually can't be sued for making a bad promise by mistake. But if an employee purposely lies to make someone else rely on a false promise, they can be sued.

If a local government breaks a valid promise, it can be sued like any other group. But if it's a county, there are extra steps to follow before a lawsuit can start. For lawsuits about harm caused by the government's actions, Virginia law says counties can't usually be sued because they are part of the state. Cities and towns can be sued when doing certain jobs, like providing gas or water, but not when doing jobs like policing or education. If someone wants to sue a city or county, they must tell the government about the problem within six months.