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Biggest Cities in Virginia

Can you name the 20 most populous cities and towns in the state of Virginia?
Not including unincorporated communities such as Arlington
2022 U.S. Census estimates
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: May 23, 2023
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First submittedAugust 23, 2012
Times taken20,118
Average score50.0%
Rating4.15
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Population
City
455,618
Virginia Beach
252,488
Chesapeake
232,995
Norfolk
229,395
Richmond
184,306
Newport News
155,525
Alexandria
138,037
Hampton
Population
City
98,537
Suffolk
97,847
Roanoke
97,029
Portsmouth
79,287
Lynchburg
51,158
Harrisonburg
48,974
Leesburg
45,610
Blacksburg
Population
City
45,373
Charlottesville
42,642
Manassas
42,229
Danville
33,394
Petersburg
28,757
Fredericksburg
27,936
Winchester
+3
Level 83
Mar 24, 2014
I've been living here for 6 years, and I can't believe I only got a whopping 13 of these.
+3
Level 82
Jul 9, 2014
I lived in Virginia for over 25 years and I got less. Fairfax, Manassas, Vienna, Annandale, Springfield, Woodbridge, Fredericksburg.. all bigger than many of these places but however it's calculated makes it a bit hard to guess.
+3
Level 74
Jul 1, 2023
I know this comment is 9 years old now, but:

Fairfax (City) - just misses with 24.8k

Manassas (City) - on the quiz

Vienna (Town) - only 16.4k

Annandale - not a city or town

Springfield - not a city or town

Woodbridge - not a city or town

Fredericksburg (City) - on the quiz

+2
Level 89
Aug 9, 2015
I managed to get 17 of them, which also happens to be the number of years I've lived here.
+5
Level 88
Jun 7, 2019
I'm a 40-year old Virginian.

There, got that off my hairy chest.

+2
Level 68
Jun 30, 2021
I've lived in Virginia all my life and I only got 8...
+1
Level 84
May 26, 2023
I married Virginia and she was of no help.
+2
Level 66
Jul 16, 2014
I thought the quiz was broken until I remembered it was for Virginia, not Maryland.
+2
Level 55
Jan 11, 2016
So I'm not the only one who gets those two mixed up sometimes! Maybe because they were both named after women?
+1
Level 45
May 25, 2023
the same woman, nonetheless
+1
Level 67
Sep 1, 2023
No, Virginia was named after Elizabeth I (the "virgin queen"), and Maryland was named after Queen Henrietta Maria.
+3
Level 74
Dec 29, 2015
Interesting that Arlington is a census designated place.
+3
Level 56
Dec 29, 2015
Love this quiz! Especially since I live in Southeastern VA and most of the answers are from the Hampton Roads area.
+2
Level 69
May 31, 2019
I am utterly confused by this quiz. And I currently live in Virginia (albeit temporarily, and under duress). What exactly is the thinking behind *not* counting unincorporated places, if they are Census-Designated?
+6
Level ∞
Jun 6, 2019
Because the Census will often take some nameless tract of suburb sprawl and give it a name that very few people ever use or recognize. Trust me when I say that having CDPs on these quizzes is VERY unpopular.
+2
Level 43
Jun 2, 2019
Why isn't Arlington on here? Is it unincorporated?
+5
Level 84
Jun 6, 2019
To further complicate things (read earlier comments), Arlington has an unusual status - it's not a city, but rather a "fully urbanized" county. Note that it's the smallest area "self-governing county" in the US.
+1
Level 59
Jun 1, 2022
And the city of Manassas Park is the smallest county-equivalent in the mainland US (there's some in some US territories that are smaller)
+1
Level 74
Jul 1, 2023
It's not even the smallest city in Virginia, Falls Church is smaller. Source
+2
Level 65
Aug 17, 2019
Didn't expect Blacksburg at No. 12. Been living here for 12 years, does not seem that big
+3
Level 89
Oct 1, 2019
It's probably because of Virginia Tech. There's pretty much nothing else there.
+2
Level 65
Oct 1, 2019
yeah.
+2
Level 82
Oct 1, 2019
I visited a friend at Virginia Tech. Both Blacksburg and nearby Christiansburg seemed like really small towns. Feels like many of the cities in NoVA should be larger.
+2
Level 65
Oct 1, 2019
Yeah. there's a bunch of small neighborhoods though.
+1
Level 74
Jul 1, 2023
Regarding Northern Virginia, Leesburg (a town), Alexandria, Manassas, and Fredericksburg are all on here. Fairfax City is only 6 square miles, Falls Church is 2.1 square miles, and Manassas Park is only 2.5 square miles. The independent towns that do exist in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William similarly have small areas (looking it up - Herndon and Vienna are both less than 5 square miles, Dumfries is 1.5 square miles, Purcellville is 3.5 square miles, etc.) There isn't enough area in these cities/towns to have a big population.
+2
Level 59
Aug 28, 2019
There are too many names for the norfolk/ VA beach/ hampton roads area. Also, it saddens me that Leesburg is the least guessed, especially as a Loudoun native.
+1
Level 68
Jun 30, 2021
Wow, awesome! I am a Loudoun native too, so I was surprised when I saw that orange dot where Leesburg is.
+2
Level 68
Oct 1, 2019
I got none. I don't know any towns in Virginia. Sorry about that.
+4
Level 68
Oct 1, 2019
Even my standard guess of Springfield for any American city quiz didn't work.
+2
Level 88
Oct 1, 2019
I lived in Springfield Virginia as a kid, but I guess it's smaller than all these other places.
+2
Level 82
Oct 1, 2019
Visited the mall there several times in my youth.
+1
Level 68
Jul 1, 2023
Ok???
+1
Level 59
Jul 1, 2023
As a native Virginian for 35 years I was able to get 10 of these. Not sure if I should be embarrassed or not.
+1
Level 68
Jul 1, 2023
6 "burg"s and two "ville"s

Some German and French influence perhaps?

+2
Level 74
Jul 1, 2023
18 of the answers are independent cities, which are county equivalents. Two of the answers are towns: Leesburg, in Loudoun County, and Blacksburg, in Montgomery County. The next answers that would be included using the existing criteria are the cities of Staunton, Salem, and Fairfax and the town of Herndon, all of which have between 26,000 and 24,000 people. Frankly, there is no better way to design a quiz on this subject than the way that this one is designed. 5 stars from me.
+1
Level 24
Jul 5, 2023
Got 1, because I've done usa cities quiz in the past.
+1
Level 74
Jul 17, 2023
Well, Virginia is obviously not my strong suit. Looking at the answers, what stands out to me is all the first names: Frederick, Dan, Peter, Alexandria, Charlotte, Lee, Rich, even Harrison. Maybe that will help me remember next time.
+1
Level 70
Oct 17, 2023
It's funny how many of these can be guessed from knowing about the Civil War
+1
Level 31
Dec 21, 2023
Hey, where is Arlington