Richmond is a thirteen county metropolitan area located in central Virginia, with Richmond, the state capital, as its principle city.

The greater Richmond metro area is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, with massive recent increases in the population. One of the biggest reasons for this large increase of population is the steadily expanding suburban areas surrounding the city of Richmond. Many of these new people are immigrants looking for affordable costs of living which Richmond has compared to many east coast cities.

Total Population: 1,271,334

(An increase of 5.23 % in the past 5 years.)

Census Data

• Foreign Born - 84,180
• Language Spoken at Home - 104,411

Quick Facts

• There are currently seven Fortune 500 companies located in the greater Richmond metropolitan area.


• Between 2000 and 2010, the area has grown by 12.42 percent, and is expected to grow by another fifteen percent between 2010 and 2020.


• Since the year 2000, the Asian immigrant population has more than doubled, and the Latino immigrant population has almost tripled.


• Latin Americans are the largest ethnic group in the city, making up over half of the foreign-born population in the city.


• Richmond has recently seen significant increases in the southeast Asian population.