Prince George County is a county in Virginia, United States, on the south bank of the James and Appomattox rivers in the Greater Richmond–Petersburg area. It had a population of 43,010 at the 2020 census and covers 282 square miles (730 km2), of which 265 square miles (686 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) is water, centred near 37°11′N 77°13′W.
Prince George is the county seat, and its postal code is 23875. The county has no incorporated towns; it is organized into four census-designated places and several smaller unincorporated communities. The county sits in the Eastern time zone.
Towns & Villages in Prince George County
Prince George County has no incorporated cities or towns of its own — all of its named places are census-designated places (CDPs) or unincorporated communities. The four CDPs, including the Fort Lee Army post, account for most of the county’s population; the rest is rural.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George | CDP · seat | — | 23875 |
| Fort Lee | CDP | — | 23801 |
| Disputanta | CDP | — | 23842 |
| Templeton | CDP | — | — |
| Burrowsville | Unincorp. | — | 23844 |
| Carson | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Garysville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Jordan Point | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kingwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Bohemia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Newville | Unincorp. | — | — |
The 2020 census did not publish separate population counts for these CDPs alongside the county total, so individual figures are left blank rather than guessed. Fort Lee (renamed Fort Gregg-Adams by the U.S. Army in 2023) is the county’s largest population center by day, holding thousands of soldiers, trainees and their families on post.
ZIP Codes
- 23875 — Prince George (county seat)
- 23801 — Fort Lee
- 23842 — Disputanta
- 23844 — Burrowsville
Smaller communities such as Carson, Garysville, Jordan Point, New Bohemia, Newville and Templeton are served by these post offices or by neighboring county ZIPs rather than carrying a distinct code of their own.
Geography
Prince George County occupies a low, level peninsula-like stretch of Virginia’s Coastal Plain, bounded by the James River to the north and the Appomattox River to the west. Much of the county is farmland and pine woodland, with the James River shoreline running past the historic Brandon, Upper Brandon and Weyanoke plantations. Fort Powhatan, a Civil War-era earthwork on the James, sits within the county’s northern reaches.
Prince George County borders Charles City County across the James River to the north, Surry County across the James to the east, Sussex County to the south, and Dinwiddie County to the west, along with the independent cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell on its western and northern edges.
Demographics
Prince George County’s population was 43,010 at the 2020 census, giving a density of roughly 162 people per square mile. Prince George and the Fort Lee post are the county’s two largest population centers. Household income data specific to the county was not verified for this profile; statewide, the Virginia median household income is $89,931, and Prince George’s mix of military, government and rural households tends to track close to the state figure rather than the lower rural-Southside counties nearby.
Economy & Local Life
The U.S. Army’s Fort Lee — now Fort Gregg-Adams, home of the Combined Arms Support Command and several Army training schools — is the county’s dominant employer, drawing a large share of the workforce and civilian contractors. Agriculture (soybeans, corn, hay) and forestry remain active along the James and Appomattox River bottomlands, and the county’s US 460 and I-295 corridors have drawn logistics and light-industrial development tied to the Port of Virginia and the Richmond-Petersburg metro.
History
Prince George County was formed in 1703, one of Virginia’s older counties, and was named for Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne. Its territory has been reduced over time by the creation of neighboring counties and by the growth of the independent city of Hopewell, which annexed the county’s City Point area in 1923. On December 22, 1935, a bus plunged through an open drawbridge over the Appomattox River in the county, killing thirteen people, one of the deadliest highway accidents in Virginia history at the time.
Getting There
Interstate 95 and Interstate 295 both cross Prince George County, along with US Route 301 and US Route 460 and State Routes 10, 35, 106 and 156.
- Petersburg — 8 miles west
- Hopewell — 6 miles north
- Richmond — 25 miles north
- Suffolk — 45 miles southeast
The nearest commercial airport is Richmond International Airport, about 30 miles north of Prince George.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Prince George County, Virginia?
It is in southeastern Virginia, on the James and Appomattox rivers south of Richmond, in the Greater Richmond–Petersburg area.
What is the population of Prince George County?
43,010 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Prince George County?
282 square miles (730 km2), of which 17 square miles is water.
What is the county seat of Prince George County?
Prince George is the county seat.
How many towns are in Prince George County?
None are incorporated; the county’s population lives in four census-designated places (Prince George, Fort Lee, Disputanta and Templeton) and several smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Prince George County?
23875 (Prince George), 23801 (Fort Lee), 23842 (Disputanta) and 23844 (Burrowsville) are the main ones.
Is Fort Lee in Prince George County?
Yes. The Army installation once known as Fort Lee, renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in 2023, sits within Prince George County and is its largest single population center.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Virginia.