Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico County is an unincorporated county in central Virginia, surrounding the independent City of Richmond on its western, northern, and eastern sides. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 334,389, making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is included in the Greater Richmond Region. The county occupies approximately 245 square miles bounded by the Chickahominy River to the north and the James River to the south. There is no incorporated community within Henrico County; therefore, there is no incorporated county seat either. Its unincorporated communities and recognized areas include Glen Allen, Short Pump, Sandston, Highland Springs, Mechanicsville, Tuckahoe, Innsbrook, and Varina.

Founding and History

Henrico County lays claim to one of the oldest and most consequential histories of any county in the United States. In 1611, Thomas Dale founded the Citie of Henricus on a peninsula in the James River that is now called Farrar’s Island. Henricus was named for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, but it was destroyed during the Indian massacre of 1622, during which local Native American warriors of the Powhatan Confederacy attacked the English settlers to drive them from the area. Henricus was the second permanent English-speaking settlement in North America, and the Virginia Company attempted to establish the first institution of higher learning in British America nearby — the proposed University of Henrico — before the 1622 attack extinguished the project. A plaque on the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary, founded in 1693, traces the institution’s origin partly to that unfulfilled plan.

In 1634, Henrico Shire was one of the eight original Shires of Virginia established in the Virginia Colony. Since then, 10 counties and three independent cities have been formed from the original territory of Henrico Shire. The original county seat was established at the Varina Farms plantation on the James River — the same land where colonist John Rolfe had lived with his wife Pocahontas after their marriage in 1614. The county seat remained in the Varina district until 1752, when it was relocated to a more central location within Richmond. The City of Richmond was officially part of Henrico County until 1842, when it became a fully independent city.

During the Revolutionary War, Henrico militia forces were called to defend Richmond against Benedict Arnold’s 1781 invasion, and later against Cornwallis’s advance. During the Civil War, Henrico County became a theater of intense fighting. Henrico County has the greatest number of Civil War battlefields in the United States. The Battle of Yellow Tavern (1864), fought within the county, resulted in the mortal wounding of Confederate cavalry commander General J.E.B. Stuart. More African American troops were awarded the Medal of Honor after the Civil War Battle of New Market Heights in eastern Henrico County than after any other Civil War battle. Fourteen men received this highest military honor for bravery.

The post-war and twentieth century brought rapid suburbanization. Richmond attempted to absorb Henrico multiple times, but in 1961, 61% of Henrico voters voted against a merger with Richmond. In 1981, the Virginia General Assembly placed a moratorium on all annexations throughout the state. Henrico’s borders have not changed since Richmond’s 1942 annexation. The county shifted its government headquarters from Richmond to a new complex in the county’s western section in 1974, finally severing its administrative connection to the city’s core.

Geography

Henrico County forms a horseshoe around Richmond, touching it on three sides. The county has a total area of 245 square miles, of which 234 square miles is land. The Chickahominy River defines the northern boundary; the James River marks the southern and southeastern edge. The county stretches from heavily developed western suburbs anchored by Short Pump and the Innsbrook Corporate Center corridor to lower-density agricultural and industrial land in the east, particularly in the Varina district along the James River. Henrico County is one of only two counties in Virginia that maintains its own roads, with the other being Arlington County. This special status was due to the existence of county highway departments prior to the creation in 1927 of the state agency now known as VDOT. Control over its own road system has been a significant advantage for Henrico planners, who can require developers to fund road infrastructure as part of development projects.

Richmond International Airport is located in the eastern portion of Henrico County in Sandston. The airport serves the entire Greater Richmond metropolitan area and is the primary commercial aviation gateway for central Virginia.

Demographics

The racial makeup of the county as of the 2020 Census was 51.0% White, 29.2% Black or African American, 9.7% Asian, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, and approximately 9.7% other or multiracial. The median age was 39.1 years. Henrico County has become notably diverse in recent decades, driven in part by immigration from South Asia, East Asia, and Latin America attracted by its technology and healthcare employment base. The western areas of the county — Short Pump and surrounding communities — are among the most affluent in the Richmond region, while the eastern Fairfield and Varina districts reflect lower median incomes and higher proportions of Black residents, mirroring patterns of residential segregation that developed during the Jim Crow era.

The median household income was $86,397 in 2023. The most affluent subarea, Short Pump, had a median household income of approximately $132,194 in the same period, with a notably high Asian population of 26.2% reflecting technology-sector immigration.

Government

In 1934, Henrico voters chose to adopt the county manager form of government, a form in which an appointed county manager is overseen by a board of elected supervisors. Today, Henrico is the only county in Virginia that uses the county manager form. At the heart of this system lies the Board of Supervisors, an elected body composed of five representatives, one from each of the county’s five magisterial districts: Brookland, Fairfield, Three Chopt, Tuckahoe, and Varina. Board members are elected to four-year terms, with all five seats on the ballot simultaneously. Democrats currently control the Board holding four of the five seats.

The County Manager serves as the administrative head of the county, appointed by the Board and responsible for day-to-day operations across 33 departments. Throughout Henrico’s history, the position has provided remarkable stability; in the eighty years since the switch to a county manager form of government in 1934, only eight individuals have served Henrico as county manager. The annual county budget exceeded $1.5 billion as of fiscal year 2025.

Unlike most Virginia counties, Henrico also maintains its own police department (separate from the Sheriff’s Office), its own road maintenance system, and its own school division — all operated as county agencies rather than through the state. The school division known as Henrico County Public Schools consists of 45 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, 10 high schools, and two technical centers within one school division.

Economy

Top private employers in the county include Capital One, Bon Secours Richmond Health System, and Elevance Health. Capital One, one of the largest banks and credit card companies in the United States and a Fortune 500 company, has its primary campus in the McLean/northern Virginia area but maintains a major operational hub and significant employee base in western Henrico County. Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris), which relocated its headquarters from New York City to Virginia in 2003 in part due to partnerships with Henrico’s Economic Development Authority, is headquartered at the county’s western boundary. Innsbrook Corporate Center, which opened in 1982 at West Broad Street and Cox Road surrounded by farms and forests, is considered Richmond’s “second downtown.” The office park’s 100 buildings and 7 hotels are now part of a huge commercial corridor leading west to Short Pump.

The Short Pump corridor along West Broad Street has grown into one of the region’s premier retail and commercial zones, anchored by Short Pump Town Center, a major regional mall, and surrounded by high-density mixed-use development. Healthcare is a major employment sector countywide, with Bon Secours Richmond’s St. Mary’s Hospital and HCA’s Henrico Doctors’ Hospital as major facilities. Richmond International Airport drives logistics, freight, and hospitality employment in the eastern county.

The most common employment sectors for Henrico County residents are Health Care & Social Assistance (24,249 people), Retail Trade (19,734 people), and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (17,408 people).

Education

Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) operates one of the largest school divisions in Virginia, serving students across the county’s 245 square miles. The division has been recognized nationally for innovation, particularly in technology integration — Henrico was among the first school districts in the country to deploy laptops to all students, beginning in 2001.

Higher education in and around Henrico includes Virginia Union University (historically Black university, located within Richmond but serving county students), J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (with campuses throughout the county), and Randolph-Macon College in adjacent Hanover County. The University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, both headquartered within the City of Richmond, draw heavily from the Henrico population.

Culture and Landmarks

Henrico County’s rich Civil War and colonial history is preserved across a dense network of battlefield sites and historic landmarks. The Richmond National Battlefield Park encompasses multiple significant sites within the county, including Cold Harbor, Glendale, and Malvern Hill — scenes of bloody fighting during the Seven Days Battles of 1862 and the Overland Campaign of 1864. The Dabbs House Museum, General Robert E. Lee’s field headquarters during the Peninsula Campaign, is operated as a county museum. The site of the original Henricus settlement is interpreted at Henricus Historical Park, a living history museum on Farrar’s Island.

Richmond Raceway is located in the central portion of Henrico County near Mechanicsville, just north of the Richmond city limits. The raceway seats approximately 60,000 people and holds two NASCAR doubleheader race weekends per year. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, situated within the county’s northern section, is a 50-acre facility widely regarded as one of the premier botanical gardens in the South; its GardenFest of Lights holiday event draws visitors from across the region. Meadow Farm Museum, a living history farm interpreting nineteenth-century rural life, and Deep Run Park are additional county parks and cultural assets.

Innsbrook Corporate Center is known for community events including the music series “Innsbrook After Hours,” an outdoor concert series that has become a summer institution in the Richmond metro area. The Virginia Capital Trail, a 52-mile paved multi-use trail, runs through eastern Henrico, connecting the county to downtown Richmond and ultimately to Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Notable People

Henrico County’s most historic connection to notable individuals runs through its colonial past. Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan Confederacy Chief Powhatan, lived part of her life in what is currently Henrico’s Varina district after her marriage to John Rolfe in 1614. Pat Benatar, the Grammy-winning rock vocalist, grew up in Henrico County before launching her career. Jenny Han, author of the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series and The Summer I Turned Pretty, was raised in Henrico County and attended Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School. Jason Mraz, the singer-songwriter known for “I’m Yours,” grew up in nearby Mechanicsville in Hanover County, adjacent to the county. Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, grew up in the Richmond area and has cited Henrico County as formative to his early life.

In the realm of public life, the county’s government structure has attracted national attention as a model of administrative efficiency. Virginia Estelle Randolph (1874–1958), a pioneering African American educator who opened the Mountain Road School in Henrico in 1892 and became the nation’s first Jeanes Supervisor Industrial Teacher in 1908, is commemorated by the Virginia Randolph Museum in Glen Allen.

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