Is Virginia Beach a County or an Independent City?

Virginia Beach is an independent city, not a county. It is one of Virginia’s 38 independent cities, home to roughly 452,000 people across nearly 245 square miles, and it sits outside any county’s boundaries. There is no “Virginia Beach County.” The city runs its own government, courts, schools, and tax system on its own.

What an Independent City Is in Virginia

Virginia’s Constitution defines a city as an independent incorporated community, separate from both counties and towns.¹ In most states, a city sits inside a county and the two share governance. Virginia does it differently. Cities and counties are peers. Each collects its own taxes, maintains its own roads, runs its own schools, and operates its own court system, without one layered on top of the other.

Towns work the other way. A town is a political subdivision of the county it sits inside, so town residents pay taxes to both, and county ordinances still apply within town limits. Independent city residents deal with one local government only.¹

This structure is unusual nationally. Outside Virginia, only three independent cities exist in the country: Baltimore, St. Louis, and Carson City, Nevada. Virginia’s 1971 Constitution formally codified the arrangement, though the principle had been recognized in state law since at least 1902.

How Virginia Beach Stopped Being Part of a County

The town of Virginia Beach was founded in 1906 inside Princess Anne County as a small coastal resort. In 1952, it separated from the county and became its own independent city, but a tiny one at just two square miles and about 8,000 residents.²

The change that produced today’s city came on January 1, 1963, when Princess Anne County consolidated with the small City of Virginia Beach.³ The merger had a defensive purpose. Norfolk had been annexing pieces of Princess Anne County through Virginia’s court-based annexation process, in which cities could sue to absorb adjacent county land. Local leaders pushed consolidation so that the entire county would gain the legal protections of city status and become immune to further annexation.

Under the consolidation charter, the new city absorbed all property, debts, and contractual obligations of both the old city and Princess Anne County, and the new boundaries matched the outer boundaries of the former county.² Princess Anne County ceased to exist. That is why no county surrounds Virginia Beach today: the county was folded into the city, not left alongside it.

What This Means for Residents

The practical effect of being an independent city is that one local government handles nearly everything. There is no separate county tax bill, no county sheriff, no county school district, and no county court running in parallel with the city’s.

One Set of Taxes

The city levies its own real estate and personal property taxes without any county overlay. The general real estate tax rate is $0.97 per $100 of assessed value for fiscal year 2026, billed in two installments due December 5 and June 5.⁴⁵ Personal property tax on vehicles runs $4.00 per $100 of assessed value, with Virginia’s Personal Property Tax Relief Act offsetting part of the bill; the relief rate for 2025 was 44.6%.⁶ The city charter also authorizes higher rates in special service districts such as Sandbridge and the Central Business District South, where extra services are provided.²

City-Run Roads and Schools

In most Virginia counties, the Virginia Department of Transportation maintains secondary roads. Independent cities do that work themselves. Virginia Beach’s Public Works department is responsible for more than 3,600 lane miles of roadway, along with traffic signals, sidewalks, bridges, guardrails, and pavement markings.⁷ Potholes, snow removal, and signal timing all belong to the city.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools operates as a division of the city government. Like every Virginia school division, it has no power to levy taxes on its own and depends on appropriations from the city council, combined with state and federal funding. One budget process, one set of elected officials making the funding decision.

City Courts and City-Elected Officers

Virginia Beach has its own circuit court, the sole court of record for the city. For judicial circuit purposes, the city shares the Second Circuit with Accomack and Northampton Counties, but the court itself is the city’s own institution with jurisdiction over all cases arising within city limits.⁸ The elected sheriff runs the city jail and provides courthouse security; the Virginia Beach Police Department handles law enforcement. Residents also elect five constitutional officers who serve the city only: the Treasurer, Sheriff, Commonwealth’s Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Commissioner of the Revenue.⁹

One Address for Local Government

For anyone filing paperwork, reading a tax bill, or trying to figure out who handles a zoning question or a permit, the answer is simpler than in most states. Virginia Beach is a single point of contact for local government. Property taxes, vehicle taxes, court filings, building permits, and school enrollment all flow through the city. Its 245-square-mile territory, set by the 1963 consolidation, has remained stable ever since, and the General Assembly cannot unilaterally extend or contract those boundaries.¹⁰

1
Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article VII Local Government – Section 1 Definitions
2
Virginia Code Commission. Charter – Virginia Beach – Virginia Law
3
City of Virginia Beach. Year in Review – Reflecting on Our 60th Year
4
City of Virginia Beach – Virginia Beach Assessor’s Office. Tax Rates
5
City of Virginia Beach. Real Estate Tax Info
6
City of Virginia Beach. Vehicles Personal Property
7
City of Virginia Beach – Public Works. Maintenance
8
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 17.1 Chapter 5 Article 1 – Establishment Jurisdiction
9
House Appropriations Committee. Constitutional Officers
10
Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article VII Local Government – Section 2 Organization and Government