Richmond, Virginia

Richmond
State capital and independent city
City of Richmond
Downtown skyline along the James River St. John's Episcopal Church Monument Avenue Main Street Station Virginia State Capitol Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  "RVA", "River City"
Motto(s):  Template:Force singular Latin: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars)
Richmond Location within Virginia Richmond Location within the contiguous United States
Coordinates: 37°32′27″N 77°26′12″W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Incorporated	1742
Named for	Richmond, London
Government
• Mayor	Danny Avula (D)
Area
• City	62.57 sq mi (162.05 km2)
• Land	59.92 sq mi (155.20 km2)
• Water	2.65 sq mi (6.85 km2)
Elevation	213 ft (65 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	226,610
• Rank	99th in the United States 4th in Virginia
• Density	3,782/sq mi (1,484.75/km2)
• Urban	1,059,150 (US: 44th)
• Urban density	2,067.3/sq mi (798.2/km2)
• Metro	1,339,182 (US: 44th)
Demonym	Richmonder
GDP
• Metro	$116.960 billion (2023)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	23173, 23218–23242, 23249–23250, 23255, 23260–23261, 23269, 23273–23274, 23276, 23278–23279, 23282, 23284–23286, 23288–23295, 23297–23298
Area codes	804 and 686
FIPS code	51-67000
GNIS feature ID	1499957
Website	rva.gov

Richmond (/ˈrɪtʃmənd/, RITCH-mənd) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. Richmond has been an independent city since 1871 with no county, and is the fourth-most populous city in the state. The population within city limits of 226,610 in 2020. The Richmond metropolitan area population is of 1.37 million making it the third largest in Virginia.

Location

Richmond is at the fall line of the James River, 108 miles (174 km) south of Washington DC, 71 miles (114 km) east of Charlottesville, Virginia, and 54 miles (87 km) west of Williamsburg, Virginia. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, and encircled by Interstate 295 and Virginia State Route 288.

History

Richmond began as an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609, and in 1610–11. English settlers returned to found a permanent town in 1737. It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the Revolutionary War period, the city was known for Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775 at St. John's Church, and the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson. During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America. The city entered the 20th century with one of the world's first successful electric streetcar systems.

Economy

Richmond's economy is primarily driven by law, finance, and government. It has federal, state, and local governmental agencies in its downtown. The downtown also has offices for legal and banking firms. The city is home to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, one of 13 federal appellate courts, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks. Dominion Resources, Carmax, Genworth Financial, and MeadWestvaco, Fortune 500 companies, along with Massey Energy and Universal Corporation, Fortune 1000 companies, are headquartered in the city. The historic sites in the area bring tourists.