 Virginia has 11 Metropolitan Statistical Areas ; Northern Virginia , Hampton Roads , and Richmond @-@ Petersburg are the three most populous . Richmond is the capital of Virginia , and its metropolitan area has a population of over 1 @.@ 2 million . As of 2010 , Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the Commonwealth , with Norfolk and Chesapeake second and third , respectively . Norfolk forms the urban core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area , which has a population over 1 @.@ 6 million people and is the site of the world 's largest naval base , Naval Station Norfolk . Suffolk , which includes a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp , is the largest city by area at 429 @.@ 1 square miles ( 1 @,@ 111 km2 ) . 
