Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia,[a] is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state's capital is Richmond and the largest city is Virginia Beach. Virginia borders eight states including Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri.
| Commonwealth of Virginia | |
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| Anthem: "Our Great Virginia" | |
 Map of the United States with Virginia highlighted | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Colony of Virginia |
| Admitted to the Union | June 25, 1788 (10th) |
| Capital | Richmond |
| Largest city | Virginia Beach |
| Largest metro | Washington (metro and urban) |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Abigail Spanberger (D) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Ghazala Hashmi (D) |
| Legislature | General Assembly |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | House of Delegates |
| U.S. senators |
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| U.S. House delegation | 6 Democrats 5 Republicans (list) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 42,774.2 sq mi (110,785.67 km2) |
| • Rank | 35th |
| Elevation | 950 ft (290 m) |
| Highest elevation | 5,729 ft (1,746 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2024) | |
| • Total |  8,811,195[3] |
| • Rank | 12th |
| • Density | 219.3/sq mi (84.7/km2) |
| • Rank | 15th |
| • Median household income |  $89,900 (2023)[4] |
| • Income rank | 11th |
| Language | |
| • Official language | English |
| • Spoken language |
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| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | VA |
| ISO 3166 code | US-VA |
| Trad. abbreviation | Va. |
| Latitude | 36° 32′ N to 39° 28′ N |
| Longitude | 75° 15′ W to 83° 41′ W |
| Website | virginia |
Virginia is the 35th-largest by area and the 12th-most populated state and as of 2025, the state's population is around 8.8 million.
| Virginia state symbols | |
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| Living insignia | |
| Bird | Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) |
| Butterfly | Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) |
| Dog breed | American Foxhound (Canis lupis familiaris) |
| Fish | Brook trout, striped bass |
| Flower | Flowering Dogwood |
| Insect | Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) |
| Tree | Flowering Dogwood |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Beverage | Milk |
| Dance | Square dance |
| Fossil | Chesapecten jeffersonius |
| Rock | Nelsonite |
| Shell | Eastern oyster |
| Slogan | Virginia is for lovers |
| Tartan | Virginia Quadcentennial Tartan |
| State route marker | |
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| State quarter | |
 Released in 2000 | |
| Lists of United States state symbols | |
History
Native Americans were the first people to settle in Virginia.
Virginia became a state in 1788 after the American Revolution. Before it became a state of the United States, Virginia was one of the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain. Virginia was founded (started) in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia.
The state of West Virginia was part of Virginia until the American Civil War. Virginia then left (seceded from) the United States and joined the Confederate States of America. The western counties of Virginia seceded from Virginia to form a new state which was loyal to the Union. After the end of the Civil War, Virginia became part of the United States again in 1870, but the counties that had left to start West Virginia did not join Virginia again.
Virginia is the state where eight United States presidents were born. This is more than any other state.
The first African-American slaves were sent to Virginia.
Economy
Virginia has many industries like local and national government, military, farming, technology and business.[5][6] Many Virginians work for the government because it is next to Washington, D.C.. The Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, as well as the National Science Foundation are in Northern Virginia. Farming is the largest industry in the state, making 334,000 jobs.[5] Tomatoes, peanuts, tobacco, and hay are grown in Virginia. Technology is a fast growing industry. Virginia is 4th in technology workers after California, Texas, and New York.[7]
Virginia Media
The story of Pocahontas was simplified and romanticized by later artists and authors, including Smith himself, and promoted by her descendants, some of whom married into elite colonial families.
In 1699, after the statehouse in Jamestown was destroyed by fire, the Colony of Virginia's capitol was moved to Williamsburg, where the College of William & Mary was founded six years earlier.[8]
In 1765, Patrick Henry led a protest of the unpopular Stamp Act in the House of Burgesses, later depicted in this portrait by Peter F. Rothermel.
Eyre Crowe's 1853 portrait, Slaves Waiting for Sale: Richmond, Virginia, which he completed after visiting Richmond's slave markets, where thousands were sold annually
The Confederacy used Richmond as their capital from May 1861 till April 1865, when they abandoned the city and set fire to its downtown.
With nearly 800,000 American soldiers passing through its terminals, the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation at Newport News became the second-largest U.S. port of embarkation during World War I.
Protests in 2020 focused on Confederate monuments in the state.
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Virginia is shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, and the parallel 36°30′ north.
Great Falls is on the fall line of the Potomac River, and its rocks date to the late Precambrian.
A recording of a resident of Tangier Island who was born in the late 1800s, showcasing the island's unique accent
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Related pages
References
- ↑ Hamilton 2016, pp. 6
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedmtrogers. - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedQuickFacts. - ↑ Household Income in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Articles, facts & infographics about Virginia Agriculture (in en-US). Farm Flavor. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
- ↑ Key Industries | Virginia Economic Development Partnership. www.vedp.org. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
- ↑ Virginia loses tech jobs but maintains highest concentration in U.S. - Washington Post (2013-01-17). Retrieved 2019-03-29.
- ↑ Heinemann and others 2007, pp. 76–77.
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