Richmond

Not to be confused with Richmond County, Virginia.

Richmond, Virginia
State capital and independent city
City of Richmond
Top: Skyline above the falls of the James River Middle: St. John's Episcopal Church, Jackson Ward, Monument Avenue. Bottom: Virginia State Capitol, Main Street Station
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): RVA, The River City,[1] Fist City,[2] Capital of the South[3][4]
Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra ("Thus do we reach the stars")
Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Richmond, Virginia Location in the United States
Coordinates: 37°32′N 77°28′W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	None (Independent city)
Named for	Richmond, London
Government
• Mayor	Levar Stoney (D)
Area
• City	62.5 sq mi (162 km2)
• Land	60.1 sq mi (156 km2)
• Water	2.5 sq mi (6 km2)
Elevation	166.45 ft (45.7 m)
Population (2015)
• City	220,289 (98th)
• Density	3,625/sq mi (1,400/km2)
• Metro	1,260,029 (44th)
Demonym(s)	Richmonder
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Codes	23173, 23218–23242, 23249–23250, 23255, 23260–23261, 23269, 23273–23274, 23276, 23278–23279, 23282, 23284–23286, 23288–23295, 23297–23298
Area code	804
FIPS code	51-67000[5]
GNIS feature ID	1499957[6]
Website	www.ci.richmond.va.us
Nomenclature evolution Prior to 1071 – Richemont: a town in Normandy, France. 1071 to 1501 – Richmond: a castle town in Yorkshire, UK. 1501 to 1742 – Richmond, a palace town in Surrey, UK. 1742 to present – Richmond, Virginia.

Richmond (/ˈrɪtʃmənd/ RICH-mənd) is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Greater Richmond Region. It was incorporated in 1742, and has been an independent city since 1871.
As of the 2010 census, the population was 204,214;^[7] in 2015, the population was estimated to be 220,289,^[7] the fourth-most populous city in Virginia. The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state.
Richmond is located at the fall line of the James River, 44 miles (71 km) west of Williamsburg, 66 miles (106 km) east of Charlottesville, and 98 miles (158 km) south of Washington, D.C. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is located at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, and encircled by Interstate 295 and Virginia State Route 288. Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest, Glen Allen to the north and west, Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast.
The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609, and in 1610–1611. The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737. It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the Revolutionary War period, several notable events occurred in the city, including 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, as well as a national hub of African-American commerce and culture, the Jackson Ward neighborhood.
Richmond's economy is primarily driven by law, finance, and government, with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as notable legal and banking firms, located in the downtown area. The city is home to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, one of 13 United States courts of appeals, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Dominion Resources and MeadWestvaco, Fortune 500 companies, are headquartered in the city, with others in the metropolitan area.^[8]