Richmond (/ˈrɪtʃmənd/, RITCH-mənd) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was officially established in 1742 and became an independent city in 1871. Richmond is the fourth-largest city in Virginia, with a population of 226,610 according to the 2020 census. The Richmond metropolitan area, which includes over 1.37 million people, is the third-largest metropolitan area in Virginia and the 44th-largest in the United States.

Richmond is located at the James River’s fall line, 44 miles (71 kilometers) west of Williamsburg, 66 miles (106 kilometers) east of Charlottesville, 91 miles (146 kilometers) east of Lynchburg, and 92 miles (148 kilometers) south of Washington, D.C. The city is surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties and is at the intersection of I-95 and I-64. It is also encircled by I-295, SR 150, and SR 288. Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest, Chesterfield to the south, Varina to the southeast, Sandston to the east, Glen Allen to the north and west, Short Pump to the west, and Mechanicsville to the northeast.

Richmond was an important village in the Powhatan Confederacy and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown between 1609 and 1611. Founded in 1737, it became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the Revolutionary War, important events took place in the city, such as Patrick Henry’s famous speech, “Give me liberty or give me death!” in 1775 at St. John’s Church, and the writing of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom by Thomas Jefferson. During the American Civil War, Richmond was the capital of the Confederate States of America.

The Jackson Ward neighborhood is the city’s traditional center for African American business and culture. It was once called the “Black Wall Street of America” and the “Harlem of the South.” At the start of the 20th century, Richmond had one of the world’s first successful electric streetcar systems.

Law, finance, and government are the main drivers of Richmond’s economy. The downtown area is home to federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as major legal and banking firms. The larger metropolitan area includes several Fortune 500 companies, such as Performance Food Group, Altria, CarMax, Dominion Energy, Markel, Owens and Minor, Genworth Financial, and ARKO Corp. Richmond is one of about a dozen cities that have both a U.S. Court of Appeals and a Federal Reserve Bank.

History

In April 1607, the first permanent English-speaking settlement was built in Jamestown, Virginia. Captain Christopher Newport led explorers northwest along the James River to an area inhabited by the Powhatan Nation. Richmond was once part of the Arrohattoc territory, where the Arrohateck village was located. Over time, relations between the Arrohattocs and English settlers worsened. By 1609, the tribe refused to trade with the colonists. As the tribe’s population decreased, it faded from records. The tribe was last mentioned in a 1610 report by William Strachey. By 1611, the Henrico town of the tribe was found empty when Sir Thomas Dale arrived to build Henricus.

In 1611, the first European settlement in Central Virginia was established at Henricus, where the Falling Creek flows into the James River. In 1619, early settlers from the Virginia Company built the Falling Creek Ironworks there. Conflicts between the Powhatan people and settlers continued for many years, including the Battle of Bloody Run in 1656, which happened near Richmond. This battle occurred after tensions grew from the arrival of Manahoacs and Nahyssans from the north. Despite these conflicts, more White settlers moved to the James Falls area in the late 1600s and early 1700s.

In early 1737, planter William Byrd II hired Major William Mayo to design the original layout of the town, which was completed in April. Byrd named the city Richmond after an English town near London because the bend of the James River reminded him of his home in Richmond Hill on the River Thames. In 1742, the settlement became an official town.

In 1775, Patrick Henry gave his famous speech, "Give me liberty or give me death!" at St. John’s Church in Richmond. This speech influenced Virginia’s role in the First Continental Congress and the American Revolution. On April 18, 1780, the state capital moved from Williamsburg to Richmond. This change helped serve Virginia’s growing western population and made the capital harder to attack from the coast. In 1781, Loyalist troops led by Benedict Arnold attacked Richmond and burned it. Governor Thomas Jefferson fled, and the Virginian militia, led by Sampson Mathews, failed to protect the city.

Richmond recovered quickly after the war and became prosperous within a year. In 1786, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson, was passed. This law separated church and state and supported freedom of religion in the United States. In 1788, the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Jefferson and Charles-Louis Clérisseau in the Greek Revival style, was completed.

To help ships move past the rapids on the James River and reach the Kanawha River, which flows into the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, George Washington helped design the James River and Kanawha Canal. The canal started in Westham and connected to Richmond, allowing goods to be moved from small river boats above the fall line to large ocean ships below. The legacy of the canal boatmen is shown on the city flag.

Because of the canal and the power from the river falls, Richmond became an important industrial center after the American Revolutionary War. It was home to major factories, including iron works and flour mills, in the South and the country.

Richmond was part of Henrico County until 1842, when it became an independent city. By 1850, Richmond was linked by railroad to Port Walthall, where ships could carry large amounts of cargo to Baltimore or Philadelphia. Passenger ships could also reach Norfolk, Virginia, through the Hampton Roads harbor. In the 19th century, Richmond was connected to the North by the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, which was later replaced by CSXT.

The railroad was also used by people escaping slavery. In 1849, Henry "Box" Brown hid in a small wooden box and was shipped from Richmond to abolitionists in Philadelphia. He traveled through Baltimore’s President Street Station, a key stop on the Underground Railroad.

Five days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the Virginia Convention voted to leave the United States on April 17, 1861, pending a popular vote. On May 20, 1861, the Confederate States Congress decided to move its capital from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond. Three days later, Virginia voters approved the Ordinance of Secession, making the decision official.

Richmond became the center of Confederate government, hospitals, a railroad hub, and one of the largest slave markets in the South. It also housed the largest Confederate arms factory, the Tredegar Iron Works. This factory made weapons, artillery, and heavy machinery, including the armor plating for the CSS Virginia, the first ironclad warship. The Confederate States Congress shared space in the Virginia State Capitol with the Virginia General Assembly. The Confederacy’s executive mansion, called the "White House of the Confederacy," was located on Clay Street.

Richmond was about 100 miles from Washington, D.C., and was far from the capital, making it hard to defend. For four years, most of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederacy’s best soldiers and leaders were used to protect it. The Union army targeted Richmond in battles in 1862 and 1864–65. In June and July 1862, Union General George B. McClellan tried but failed to capture Richmond during the Seven Days Battles. Three years later, in March 1865, Richmond became indefensible after nearby Petersburg fell and rail lines to the south and southwest were destroyed.

On March 25, 1865, Confederate General John B. Gordon’s attack on Fort Stedman failed. On April 1, Union General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate General George Pickett at the Five Forks Junction, leading to a Union advance. When the Union Sixth Corps broke through Confederate lines, Confederate losses were over 5,000, about one-tenth of General Lee’s army. Lee then told President Jefferson Davis that he would leave Richmond.

On April 2, 1865, the Confederate Army began evacuating Richmond. President Davis, his government, and the treasury’s gold left the city by train that night. Confederate officials burned

Geography

Richmond is located at approximately 37.5 degrees north and 77.5 degrees west. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers about 62 square miles, with 60 square miles being land and 2.7 square miles being water. The city lies in the Piedmont region of Virginia, at the James River’s highest navigable point. The Piedmont region has low, rolling hills and is between the flat Tidewater area and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Major water sources in the region include the James River, the Appomattox River, and the Chickahominy River.

Richmond-Petersburg is the 44th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States. It includes the independent cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, and Petersburg, as well as counties such as Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, and Prince George. On July 1, 2009, the population of the Richmond-Petersburg MSA was 1,258,251.

Richmond is about 21.7 miles north of Petersburg, Virginia; 66.1 miles southeast of Charlottesville, Virginia; 79.2 miles northwest of Norfolk, Virginia; 96.9 miles south of Washington, D.C.; and 138.7 miles northeast of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Richmond’s original street grid, created in 1737, covered the area between Broad Street, 17th Street, 25th Street, and the James River. Modern Downtown Richmond is slightly west of this area, on the slopes of Shockoe Hill. Nearby neighborhoods include Shockoe Bottom, a historically significant area between Shockoe Hill and Church Hill, and Monroe Ward, which contains the Jefferson Hotel. Richmond’s East End includes neighborhoods like Church Hill, home to St. John’s Church, and areas such as Fulton, Union Hill, and Fairmount. Public housing projects like Mosby Court and Creighton Court are also in this area.

The area between Belvidere Street, Interstate 195, Interstate 95, and the James River includes Virginia Commonwealth University and is socioeconomically and architecturally diverse. North of Broad Street, the Carver and Newtowne West neighborhoods are similar to Jackson Ward. Carver has seen some gentrification due to its proximity to VCU. The Fan, an affluent area between the Boulevard, Main Street, Broad Street, and VCU, is home to Monument Avenue, known for its Victorian architecture, and many students. West of the Boulevard is the Museum District, which includes the Virginia Historical Society and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. South of the Downtown Expressway are Byrd Park, Maymont, Hollywood Cemetery, the Randolph neighborhood, and Oregon Hill. Carytown, a popular commercial area, is located on Cary Street between Interstate 195 and the Boulevard.

Richmond’s Northside has many historic districts. Neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill-Plateau and Barton Heights began developing in the late 1800s when streetcars allowed people to live on the city’s outskirts and commute downtown. Other Northside neighborhoods include Azalea, Ginter Park, and Highland Park.

Farther west is the suburban West End, including Windsor Farms. The West End also includes middle- to low-income neighborhoods like Laurel and Farmington, and areas near Regency Mall. More affluent areas include Glen Allen, Short Pump, and parts of Tuckahoe. The University of Richmond and the Country Club of Virginia are near the Richmond-Henrico border.

The part of the city south of the James River is called the Southside. Southside neighborhoods range from the gentrifying Old Town Manchester to the affluent Westover Hills and the impoverished Manchester and Blackwell areas. Other Southside neighborhoods include Bellemeade and Fawnbrook. Much of Southside, especially near Chesterfield County, developed a suburban character before being annexed by Richmond in 1970.

Richmond has a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters. Mountains to the west help block cold air in winter, and the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean influence the weather. The coldest months are late December to early February, with an average January temperature of 37.9°F (3.3°C). The warmest months are July and August, with an average July temperature of 79.3°F (26.3°C). Richmond’s coldest temperature was −12°F (−24°C) in 1940, and its hottest was 107°F (42°C) in 1918.

Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, but dry periods can occur, especially in autumn. Snow has been recorded in seven months, with an average annual snowfall of 10.5 inches (27 cm). Snow typically melts quickly, but it stayed on the ground for 16 days in 2010 and 17 days in 2026. Ice storms are not uncommon but rarely cause major damage.

The James River reaches tidewater at Richmond, where flooding can happen any time of the year, most often in March. Hurricanes and tropical storms are the main causes of flooding during summer and early fall. In 1955, three hurricanes, including Hurricane Connie and Hurricane Diane, caused record rainfall. In 2004, Hurricane Gaston’s remnants led to severe flooding in downtown Richmond.

Damaging storms in winter are usually from snow and freezing rain. In other seasons, hurricanes, tornadoes, and severe thunderstorms can cause damage. Wind is a common source of damage during storms.

Demographics

Richmond has a population of about 226,000 people. As an independent city, Richmond is surrounded by Henrico County, which has a population of about 334,000. The Greater Richmond region has an estimated population of about 1.3 million people.

According to the 2020 census, Richmond had a population of 226,610 people. The average age of residents was 32.4 years. About 17.1% of people were younger than 18, and 13.2% were 65 years or older. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or older, there were 87.9 males aged 18 or older.

All residents lived in urban areas, and no one lived in rural areas.

There were 102,359 households in Richmond. About 20.7% of these households had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 23.9% were married-couple households, 26.4% were headed by a male with no spouse or partner, and 40.0% were headed by a female with no spouse or partner. About 40.2% of households had only one person living in them, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years or older.

There were 111,963 housing units in Richmond. About 8.6% of these units were empty. The percentage of homes that were unoccupied by owners was 2.0%, and the percentage of homes that were unoccupied by renters was 6.8%.

Richmond had a sharp increase in crime, especially murder rates, during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. During this time, it was often ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.

Since the late 2000s, crime rates in Richmond have dropped significantly. Between 2004 and 2009, major crime rates, including violent and property crimes, decreased by 47% to the lowest level in over 25 years. In 2008, Richmond ranked 49th in a list of the most dangerous cities in the United States and had its lowest homicide rate since 1971. By 2012, Richmond was no longer in the top 200 most dangerous cities.

In recent years, Richmond, like other cities, has seen a slight increase in homicides. However, violent and other types of crime remain below the national average.

In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, a law about religious freedom that Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1779. The First Freedom Center now marks the location where this law was adopted.

Richmond has several historic churches, including Anglican/Episcopal ones from before the Revolutionary War, such as Monumental Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and St. John’s Episcopal Church. Methodists and Baptists built churches later. The First Baptist Church of Richmond was established in 1780. The First Presbyterian Church, organized in 1812, was the city’s first Reformed church. The Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond, founded in 1845, was the city’s first Gothic-style and gas-lit church. St. Peter’s Church, dedicated in 1834, was the first Catholic church. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, dedicated 72 years later, is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond.

The first Jewish congregation in Richmond, and the sixth in the United States, was Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalom. By 1822, members worshipped in Virginia’s first synagogue. Later, the congregation merged with another group, Congregation Beth Ahabah. Today, Richmond has two Orthodox synagogues, Keneseth Beth Israel and Chabad of Virginia. An Orthodox school, Rudlin Torah Academy, includes a program for students after high school. The city also has two Conservative synagogues, Beth El and Or Atid, and two Reform synagogues, Beth Ahabah and Or Ami. Other Jewish organizations in Richmond include the Weinstein Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, and the Richmond Jewish Foundation.

Immigrants brought their religions to Richmond and built churches. Germans formed St. John’s German Evangelical Church in 1843. Greeks held their first worship service in 1917 in a rented room at 309 North 7th Street. The Greek Orthodox Cathedral later moved to 30 Malvern Avenue in 1960. It is one of two Eastern Orthodox churches in Richmond and hosts the annual Richmond Greek Festival.

There are seven mosques in the Greater Richmond area, with three more under construction to meet the needs of the growing Muslim population. The first was Masjid Bilal. In the 1950s, Muslims from the East End organized under the Nation of Islam (NOI), meeting in Temple No. 24 on North Avenue. After the NOI split in 1975, some members joined mainstream Islam and met at Shabaaz Restaurant on Nine Mile Road. By 1976, they rented a church they tried to buy but failed. Eventually, the group bought an old grocery store on Chimbarazoo Boulevard, where Masjid Bilal is now located. Initially called “Masjid Muhammad No. 24,” it was renamed Masjid Bilal in 1990. The Islamic Center of Virginia (ICVA), established in 1973, bought land on Buford Road and began building a new mosque in the 1980s. Other mosques in the area include the Islamic Center of Richmond (ICR) in the West End, Masjid Umm Barakah on 2nd Street in Downtown, Islamic Society of Greater Richmond (ISGR) in the West End, Masjidullah on the north side, and Masjid Ar-Rahman in the East End.

Seminaries in Richmond include Virginia Union University’s school of theology, Union Presbyterian Seminary, and the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. The McCollough Theological Seminary of the United House of Prayer For All People is located in the Church Hill neighborhood.

Bishops in Richmond include those of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the largest in the denomination; the Richmond Area of the United Methodist Church (Virginia Annual Conference), one of the oldest and second largest in the nation; and the Presbytery of the James—Presbyterian Church (USA)—in the Richmond area.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond was created by Pope Pius VII on July 11, 1820. Today, it has 235,816 members in 146 parishes. The city of

Economy

Richmond is located on the James River where the land changes from rocky hills to flat areas. This position helped make it a key place for trade and transportation. For many years, three types of transportation—boats using the Great Turning Basin, railroads with one of only two triple crossings in North America, and cars using two major interstates—made the downtown area a central point for movement and business.

Law and finance have long been important parts of Richmond’s economy. The city is home to the Virginia Supreme Court, one of four U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia, one of four U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the same district, and one of thirteen U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Large law firms, such as Hunton Andrews Kurth, McGuireWoods, and Williams Mullen, are based in Richmond. Troutman Sanders, which merged with Mays & Valentine LLP in 2001, also has a strong presence there.

Richmond is also the location of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of twelve such banks in the United States. Many large financial companies, including Genworth Financial, Capital One, Philip Morris USA, and several banks and brokerages, have major offices in the city.

Since the 1960s, Richmond has been an important center for advertising agencies and related businesses. The Martin Agency, a well-known local firm founded in 1965, employs 500 people. With support from local agencies, VCU’s graduate advertising school, the VCU Brandcenter, has been ranked as the top advertising program in the country.

Richmond is home to the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, which opened in 1995 as a place for new biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to grow. Located near the Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, the park has over 575,000 square feet of space for research, labs, and offices. Companies, research institutes, government labs, and non-profit groups use the space. The United Network for Organ Sharing, which manages the national organ transplant list, is based in one building there. Philip Morris USA built a $350 million research and development center in the park in 2007. When fully developed, the park is expected to employ about 3,000 scientists, technicians, and engineers.

Richmond’s downtown has been improved with new features, including the Canal Walk, a new Greater Richmond Convention Center, and expanded areas on both VCU campuses. A new performing arts center, Richmond CenterStage, opened in 2009. It includes renovations to the Carpenter Center and the construction of a new hall, playhouse, and arts education center in parts of the old Thalhimers department store.

Craft beer, cider, and liquor production is growing in Richmond, with twelve micro-breweries in the city. The oldest, Legend Brewery, was founded in 1994. Two cideries, Buskey Cider and Blue Bee Cider, are located in Scott’s Addition, a popular area with nine breweries, one meadery, and one distillery. Richmond has three distilleries: Reservoir Distillery (founded in 2010), Belle Isle Craft Spirits (started in 2013), and James River Distillery (established in 2014).

Richmond is gaining attention from the film and television industry. High-profile movies filmed in the area include Lincoln (2012), for which Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar; Killing Kennedy (2013), starring Rob Lowe; and Turn, which aired on AMC. Richmond was the main location for the PBS drama Mercy Street, which began in 2016. Organizations like the Virginia Film Office and events such as the Richmond International Film Festival and French Film Festival help bring film and media professionals to the region.

Greater Richmond was named the third-best city for business by MarketWatch in 2007, behind Minneapolis and Denver and ahead of Boston. Six Fortune 500 companies are based in the area: Dominion Energy, CarMax, Owens & Minor, Genworth Financial, MeadWestvaco/WestRock, and Altria Group. Dominion Energy is the only one headquartered in Richmond. Others are in nearby Henrico and Hanover counties. In 2006, MeadWestvaco moved from Stamford, Connecticut, to Richmond with help from the Greater Richmond Partnership, which also brought companies like Aditya Birla Minacs, Amazon.com, and Honeywell International to the region. In 2008, Altria moved its headquarters from New York City to Henrico County. In 2015, MeadWestvaco merged with Rock-Tenn Company to form WestRock.

Other Fortune 500 companies with a major presence in Richmond include SunTrust Banks (based in Atlanta), Capital One (officially based in McLean, Virginia, but with operations and most employees in Richmond), and McKesson Corporation (based in Texas). In 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific came to the area after buying PPD, a contract research organization. Capital One and Philip Morris USA are two of the largest private employers in the region. DuPont has a production facility in South Richmond called the Spruance Plant. UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload division of United Parcel Service, has its headquarters in Richmond.

Other companies based in Richmond include CTI Consultants (engineering), NewMarket (chemicals), Brink’s (security), Estes Express Lines (freight), Universal Corporation (tobacco), Cavalier Telephone (now Windstream, a phone, internet, and TV provider), Cherry Bekaert & Holland (accounting), McGuireWoods (law), Elephant Insurance (insurance), and Media General (broadcast media).

As of 2016, 24.8% of Richmond residents lived below the federal poverty line, the second-highest rate among the 30 largest cities and counties in Virginia. A 2016 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that Richmond had a child poverty rate of 39%, more than double Virginia’s overall rate. At that time, Richmond had the second-highest rate of eviction filings and judgments among American cities with populations of 100,000 or more. Some neighborhoods, like the Creighton Court public-housing complex, have high levels of poverty.

Arts and culture

Many large museums in the city are found on or near Arthur Ashe Boulevard, in an area called the Museum District. The Virginia Historical Society and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts are located on the Boulevard. Nearby, on Broad Street, is the Science Museum of Virginia, which is housed in the old 1919 Broad Street Union Station building. Close to this is the Children's Museum of Richmond, and two blocks away is the Virginia Center for Architecture. Downtown, the Library of Virginia and the Valentine Richmond History Center are located. The city also has the Virginia Holocaust Museum and the Old Dominion Railway Museum.

Richmond is home to several museums and battlefields related to the American Civil War. The Richmond National Battlefield Park Visitors Center and the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar are near the riverfront. Both are in the old buildings of the Tredegar Iron Works, where much of the South’s war supplies were made. In Court End, near the Virginia State Capitol, is the Museum of the Confederacy and the Davis Mansion, also known as the Confederacy’s White House. These places display many items from the Civil War era. The temporary home of General Robert E. Lee still stands Downtown on Franklin Street.

The history of slavery and freedom is increasingly shown in the city. A former slave trail along the river leads to Ancarrow’s Boat Ramp and Historic Site, which has signs explaining its history. In 2007, the Reconciliation Statue was placed in Shockoe Bottom, with matching statues in Liverpool and Benin to represent parts of the Triangle Trade.

Other historical places include St. John’s Church, where Patrick Henry gave his famous “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech, and the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, which has many of his writings and items from his life. The John Marshall House, home of a former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, is also Downtown and displays his writings and belongings. Hollywood Cemetery is where two U.S. Presidents and many Civil War officers and soldiers are buried. The Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives collects and shows materials about Jewish history and culture connected to Richmond.

The Virginia Washington monument was designed by Thomas Crawford and finished by Randolph Rogers after Crawford’s death. It became the second statue of George Washington in the United States, following the one in Union Square, New York City, which was unveiled in 1856. The monument was completed in 1869. Near Byrd Park is the World War I Memorial Carillon, a 56-bell tower. The Virginia War Memorial, located on Belvedere overlooking the river, honors Virginians who died in battles during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. It was dedicated in 1956.

Agecroft Hall is a Tudor-style manor house and estate on the James River in the Windsor Farms neighborhood of Richmond. The house was built in the late 15th century and was originally in the Agecroft area of Pendlebury, Lancashire, England.

Musicians from Richmond include Agents of Good Roots, Alabama Thunderpussy, Maggie Antone, Avail, Bad Omens, Black Kray, Chris Brown, Breadwinner, Broadside, Carbon Leaf, Cannabis Corpse, Cracker, D’Angelo, Jimmy Dean, Denali, Down to Nothing, Engine Down, Fighting Gravity, Four Walls Falling, Gwar, Iron Reagan, Labradford, Lamb of God, Lil Ugly Mane, Lucy Dacus, Aimee Mann, Jason Mraz, Municipal Waste, Nettspend, Nickelus F, River City High, Sparklehorse, Strike Anywhere, and Eric Stanley.

Richmond’s art scene grew quickly after the Richmond Mural Project (RMP) and the 2013 RVA Street Art Festival, which added more than 100 murals by international artists like Aryz, Roa, Ron English, and Natalia Rak. The RMP focused on international artists, while the RVA Street Art Festival, led by local artist Ed Trask, focused on regional artists. After some criticism, the RMP included local artists like Nils Westergard and Jacob Eveland. The two events were separate, and the RMP is no longer active. The RVA Street Art Festival happens when funding allows. In response to the George Floyd protests in 2020, local artist Hamilton Glass started the Mending Walls Project, featuring walls painted by pairs of local artists.

Theater in Richmond began long ago. Lewis Hallam performed early Shakespeare plays in Williamsburg, and Richmond became a major place for performances by famous American and English actors, such as William Macready, Edwin Forrest, and the Booth family. In the 20th century, the city had many amateur theater groups and professional touring productions. Today, Richmond’s main performing arts groups include the Virginia Repertory Theatre, Richmond Ballet, Richmond Triangle Players, Richmond Symphony, and Virginia Opera.

Other venues and companies include:
– Altria Theater, a city-owned opera house
– The Byrd Theatre in Carytown, a 1920s movie palace that shows second-run films and hosts the French Film Festival
– Leslie Cheek Theater at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
– Dogwood Dell, an outdoor theater in Byrd Park
– National Theater
– Dominion Energy Center, which includes the Carpenter Theater
– School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community
– Virginia Credit Union Live!
– Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront

Commercial art galleries include Metro Space Gallery and Gallery 5 in a newly designated

Sports

Richmond does not have a major league professional sports team. The city has several minor league sports teams, including the Richmond Kickers of USL League One and the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Class AA Eastern League of Minor League Baseball, which is connected to the San Francisco Giants. The Kickers began playing in Richmond in 1993, making them the oldest professional team still running in the United States. The team now plays home games at City Stadium. In 2018, the Richmond Kickers left the USL to start a team in Division 3 Soccer. The Flying Squirrels began their first season at The Diamond on April 15, 2010. From 1966 through 2008, the city was home to the Richmond Braves, a AAA team connected to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball, until the team moved to Georgia.

Richmond is home to the Richmond Black Widows, the city’s first women’s football team, founded in 2015 by Sarah Schkeeper. The team plays in the Women’s Football Alliance, which starts its preseason in January and its regular season in April.

Tennis is popular in Richmond. In 2010, the United States Tennis Association named Richmond the third "Best Tennis Town," after Charleston, South Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Richmond hosted the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, which included cyclists from 76 countries and had an estimated economic impact of $158.1 million on the Greater Richmond Region from event staging and visitor spending. The championship course was the first real-world location to be recreated in the indoor cycle training app, Zwift. The app later added two other UCI world championships courses: Innsbruck from 2018 and Harrogate from 2019.

The city is home to the University of Richmond football team, which won the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS National Championship. The team plays its home games at Robins Stadium.

Richmond has also seen recent success in men’s and women’s college basketball in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Richmond Spiders play at the Robins Center, and the VCU Rams play at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. The Stuart C. Siegel Center is also where the Virginia High School Basketball Championships take place.

The 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway is located in nearby Henrico County and hosts auto racing, including NASCAR events.

Parks and recreation

The city manages one of the oldest park systems in the country. In 1851, the City Council decided to buy 7.5 acres (30,000 m²), now called Monroe Park. Monroe Park is next to the Virginia Commonwealth University campus and is one of more than 40 parks in the city, covering over 1,500 acres (610 ha).

Other city parks include Joseph Bryan Park Azalea Garden, Forest Hill Park (once the site of Forest Hill Amusement Park), and Chimborazo Park (where the National Battlefield Headquarters is located).

Many city parks are located along the James River and are part of the James River Parks System. This system includes bike trails, hiking trails, and scenic overlooks. These trails are used for the Xterra East Championship, which includes running and mountain biking events.

Parks are also found on two major islands in the James River: Belle Isle and Brown's Island. Belle Isle was once a Powhatan fishing village, a colonial horse race track, and a Civil War prison camp. It is larger than Brown's Island and has bike trails, a small cliff for rock climbing, and remains from the Civil War prison, such as an arms storage room and a gun emplacement. Brown's Island is smaller and hosts free outdoor concerts and festivals during spring and summer, like the Friday Cheers concert series and the James River Beer and Seafood Festival.

Richmond is the only city in the United States with Class IV rapids flowing through it.

Two other major parks along the James River are Byrd Park and Maymont, located near Randolph, Carytown, and the Fan District. Byrd Park includes a 1-mile (1.6 km) running track with exercise stops, a public dog park, small lakes for boats, and two monuments, a Buddha house, and an amphitheater. The World War I Memorial Carillon, built in 1926, is a notable feature of the park. Maymont, next to Byrd Park, is a 100-acre (40 ha) Victorian estate with a museum, formal gardens, native wildlife exhibits, a nature center, a carriage collection, and a children's farm.

Government

Richmond’s city government includes a city council with nine members, each representing a different district. These members help make laws and check how they are followed. The mayor, who is elected by all citizens, leads the city’s executive branch. Each of the nine districts elects one council member to serve a four-year term. In 2008, council terms were changed to last four years. The city council chooses one member to be president and another to be vice president. Meetings are held at City Hall, located at 900 E. Broad St., 2nd Floor, on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, except August.

In 1977, a court ruled that Richmond’s old voting system, which allowed all citizens to vote for council members without district divisions, was unfair because it did not equally represent all groups. This decision required the city to divide into nine separate districts. Within a year, the council became mostly made up of Black members, matching the city’s population. This change led to the election of Richmond’s first Black mayor, Henry L. Marsh.

In 2004, Richmond changed its government structure from one where the mayor was chosen by the council to a system where the mayor is elected by all citizens. To win the mayoral election, a candidate must receive the most votes in five of the nine districts. If no one meets this requirement, the top two candidates in the first round compete in a runoff election. This rule was created to prevent wealthier or more organized groups from having too much influence. In a major election, current mayor Rudy McCollum lost to L. Douglas Wilder, who had previously been Virginia’s first elected African American governor since the Reconstruction era. Levar Stoney was mayor from 2016 to 2024. Dr. Danny Avula became mayor on December 31, 2024.

The mayor is not a member of the Richmond City Council.

As of 2025, the Richmond City Council includes:
• Andrew S. Breton, 1st district (West End)
• Katherine L. Jordan, 2nd district (North Central), council vice president
• Kenya J. Gibson, 3rd district (Northside)
• Sarah M.A. Abubaker, 4th district (Southwest)
• Stephanie A. Lynch, 5th district (Central)
• Ellen F. Robertson, 6th district (Gateway)
• Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th district (East End), council president
• Reva M. Trammell, 8th district (Southside)
• Nicole Jones, 9th district (South Central)

Education

The City of Richmond operates 28 elementary schools, seven middle schools, and eight high schools, serving 24,000 students. The city has one Governor's School, the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies. In 2008, this school was named one of Newsweek magazine's 18 "public elite" high schools. In 2012, it was listed among 16 of America's best high schools. Richmond's public school district also manages one of Virginia's four public charter schools, the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, which opened in 2010. In 2020, 71.6% of the school's graduating class graduated on time, which was at least 20 percentage points lower than most other school districts in the state, making it the lowest-performing district in Virginia.

As of 2008, there were 36 private schools in the City of Richmond that served students in grades one or higher. Some of these schools include: Banner Christian School; St. Bridget School; Brook Road Academy; Collegiate School; Grace Christian School; Grove Christian School; Guardian Christian Academy; St. Christopher's School; St. Catherine's School; Southside Baptist Christian School; Northstar Academy; The Steward School; Trinity Episcopal School; The New Community School; and Veritas School.

The only Catholic high school in Richmond is Cristo Rey Richmond High School. This school was formed after Benedictine College Preparatory and St. Gertrude High School moved to a shared campus in Goochland.

The Richmond area has several major colleges and universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University (public), University of Richmond (private), Virginia Union University (private), South University–Richmond (private, for-profit), Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education (private), and the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond (BTSR—private). Community colleges in the area include J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and Brightpoint Community College (located in Chesterfield County). Technical colleges in Richmond include ITT Technical Institute, ECPI College of Technology, and Centura College. Vocational colleges in the area include Fortis College and Bryant Stratton College.

Virginia State University is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Richmond, in Ettrick, just outside Petersburg. Randolph-Macon College is located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Richmond, in Ashland.

Media

The Richmond Times-Dispatch, which is owned by Lee Enterprises, Inc., is the local daily newspaper. It sells 120,000 copies each Sunday. Style Weekly, an online alternative publication owned by VPM Media Corporation, reports on popular culture, arts, and entertainment. The Richmond Free Press and The Voice provide news from the perspective of the African-American community.

Infrastructure

The Greater Richmond area is served by the Richmond International Airport, located in Sandston, seven miles southeast of Richmond and within an hour’s drive of historic Williamsburg, Virginia. The airport is used by ten passenger airlines and four cargo airlines, with more than 200 flights daily. These flights offer direct service to major cities in the United States and connecting flights to other countries. In 2023, a record 4.8 million passengers used the airport, surpassing the previous record of 4.4 million in 2019.

Richmond is a major stop for Greyhound Lines, a bus company that operates from its terminal at 2910 N Boulevard. Buses run multiple times daily to cities such as Washington, D.C., New York, and Raleigh. A trip from Richmond to New York takes about 7.5 hours. Megabus, a discount bus service, offers curbside service from Main Street Station. It provides direct routes to Washington, D.C., Hampton Roads, Charlotte, Raleigh, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Passengers traveling to cities like New York can connect through Washington, D.C.

The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) provides bus and paratransit services in Richmond and parts of Henrico and Chesterfield counties. However, GRTC services do not reach many suburban areas, including the far West End, Innsbrook, Short Pump, and most of Chesterfield County, even though these areas have many homes, stores, and offices. A 2008 report found that most GRTC riders use the service because they do not have other transportation options, such as a car. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Transportation gave Richmond a $25 million grant to build the GRTC Pulse bus rapid transit system. This system, which opened in June 2018, runs along Broad Street from Willow Lawn to Rocketts Landing.

Richmond has two train stations operated by Amtrak. Both stations receive regular train service from the north, including routes to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. The main station, Staples Mill Road Station, is located outside the city on a major freight line that connects to cities like Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Savannah, Newport News, Norfolk, and Florida. The historic Main Street Station, renovated in 2004, is the only train station in the city of Richmond. As of 2010, it only serves trains traveling to and from Newport News due to track layout.

Richmond’s location at the intersection of Interstate 64 (east-west) and Interstate 95 (north-south) provides strong highway access. These are two of the busiest highways in the state. As the state capital, Richmond also has good access to state roads.

Dominion Energy supplies electricity to the Richmond Metro area. Based in Richmond, it is one of the largest energy producers in the nation, serving customers in nine states. Electricity for the area is mainly generated at the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station, Surry Nuclear Generating Station, and a coal-fired plant in Chester, Virginia. These three power plants together produce 4,453 megawatts of electricity. Additional natural gas plants in Chester, Surry, and two in Richmond (Gravel Neck and Darbytown) provide extra power during times of high demand.

The Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) provides natural gas to the Richmond Metro area, including parts of Henrico and Chesterfield counties. It also supplies water to the city and surrounding areas through contracts with Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover counties. The DPU is one of Virginia’s largest water suppliers, providing water to about 500,000 people, including 62,000 city residents. Water is delivered through a system of pipes, pumping stations, storage tanks, and a modern plant that can treat up to 132 million gallons of water daily from the James River.

The wastewater treatment plant is located on the south bank of the James River. It can process up to 70 million gallons of sewage and stormwater daily before returning the water to the river. The wastewater system also manages 1,500 miles of sewer lines, 38 miles of intercepting lines, and the Shockoe Retention Basin, a 44-million-gallon stormwater storage tank used during heavy rains.

Sister cities

Richmond's sister cities are:

• Richmond upon Thames , United Kingdom
• Saitama , Japan
• Ségou , Mali
• Windhoek , Namibia
• Zhengzhou , China
• Olsztyn , Poland