RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia counties near the nation’s capital and most of the state’s largest cities saw population increases last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday.
Fairfax County remains the state’s largest, gaining 3,100 residents to nearly 1.14 million in 2014. Loudoun County’s population jumped more than 12,000, or 3.4 percent, to 363,000, and Prince William County had an increase of 5,900 residents to more than 446,000.
Those areas near Washington, D.C., accounted for more than one-third of the state’s overall estimated gain. Virginia’s population rose nearly 56,000 last year to more than 8.3 million, the estimates showed.
Northern Virginia has grappled with the spread of suburbia for decades. Loudoun County’s population in 1990 was 86,129 and 169,599 in 2000.
Over the past four years, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties alone have gained more than 150,000 residents, and Alexandria and Arlington near the nation’s capital each have seen solid increases.
Four of Virginia’s five largest cities gained residents under the latest census count. Virginia Beach was still the largest, growing by 1,672 residents in 2014 to about 451,000. It was followed by Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond and Newport News.
The state’s smallest county, Highland, saw a growth of about 30 residents to 2,248 in 2014 after several years of declines.
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