| Year | Population | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1526 | 600 | Spaniards settle at St. Michael (Jamestown site?). Men, women, and children, with 150 horses and provisions for one year. The intention being to raise sufficient food for the future use of the colony. They suffered from Indian foray, sickness and starvation. Only 150 succeeded in returning to Santo Domingo in 1527. |
| 1570 | Spaniards settle on northern shore of the Rappahannock Number of colonists not given. All massacred by Indians. | |
| 1607 | 105 | English settle at Jamestown. First permanent English colony in America. There were thirty native tribes, under the leadership of the Powhatans, then living in Virgina. They numbered about 8.000 of whom there were about 2,400 warriors. |
| 1608 | 158 | 125 new arrivals. 67 had died. |
| 1609 | 490 | About 325 survivors of the Gates-Somers expedition arrived in August. Gates and Somers, with 150 others had been wrecked in the Bermudas. |
| 1610 | 60 | This number found by Gates on arrival in the Patience and Deliverance. He brought between 75 and 100 emigrants from Bermuda, men, women and children. As the colonists were sailing- for Newfoundland, Deleware arrived. When he arrived there were about 135 to 150 living. The expedition of three vessels brought about 260 new colonists, for it is estimated that 900 had been sent over in all. Tyler (Cradle of the Republic) estimates 80, found by Gates. |
| 1611 | 210 | Living at Jamestown. Other estimates state 350. Possibly these were living on newly seated plantations. The mortality was so alarming, Deleware established a quarantine near Kicquotan (Buckroe?). |
| 1617 | 400 | At Jamestown. Probably 100 on outlying plantations. Tyler (id) estimates that 1,000 had emigrated to the colony between 1611-1618. With his estimate of 800 arriving between 1607-1611, this would total 1800 arrivals (1900 according to the estimate above). Of these from 1,200 to 1,300 had died or returned to England. |
| 1618 | 600 | According to Stith (History of Va. p. 281.) the population was 700, men, momen and children; 300 cattle and numerous hogs. |
| 1620 | 2400 | 1,300 emigrated during the year, coming on 21 ships. |
| 1622 | 1240 | Living before the massacre. 17 ships had arrived by the last of March, bringing 1,580 persons. This number was augmented by arrival of 93 emigrants in another vessel. The total emigration to date had been 2,423, of whom 1,183 had died. The 1,240 in the colony were further reduced by 347 deaths during the massacre. Only 893 were left. Hawthorne, in his History, of the United States (Collier Edition, Vol. I, p. 137), says that "two thousand settlers came in from the outlying districts, panic stricken, and after living in the vicinity of Jamestown, took ship for England." He further says" The bolder spirits, who remained, organized a war of exterminations etc." The absurdity of this statement is apparant.<a href="#1" class="toolTip" title="Footnote: 1 Very few of the 893 Colonists returned to England.">1 Tyler estimates (id) the arrivals, between December 1618 and November 1619, at 840, making a total of 1440. 540 had died, leaving 900 survivors. He estimates that 4,749 arrived between 1611-1625. With the 900 this would total 5,649. Of these 4,554 had died or left the colony. 1,095 survived, therefore, in 1625. |
| 1623 | 2,250 | 5,720 had emigrated. 2,250 living. |
| 1628 | 3,000 | Estimated. Emigrated to date, 7,389. Mortality, 6,294. |
| 1634 | 5,000 | Estimated. |
| 1640 | 7,466 | U. S. Census. 1910. Abstract, p. 567n. |
| 1649 | 15,000 | U. S. Census 1910. Abstract, p. 567n. Including from 300 to 500 blacks. |
| 1654 | 21,600 | U. S. Census 1910. Abstract, p. 567n. |
| 1659 | 30,000 | U. S. Census 1910. Abstract, p. 567n. |
| 1665 | 40,000 | Tyler (id) estimates about 2,000 blacks. |
| 1671 | 40,000 | Estimate by. U. S. Census. (id). There were still 30 Indian tribes, but only 2,400 survivors, of whom about 725 were warriors. A loss, since 1607, of 5,600 population, and of about 1,675 warriors. |
| 1675 | 50,000 | |
| 1681 to 1700 | 70,000 to 80,000 | |
| 1715 | 95,000 | U. S. Census (id). 72,000 whites; 23,000 blacks. |
| 1717 | 100,000 | U. S. Census. |
| 1754 | 284,000 | U. S. Census. |
| 1755 | 295,156 | UT. S. Census. 175,516 white: 120,156 black. |
| 1775 | 550,000 | U. S. Census. |
| 1776 | 567,614 | U. S. Census. 296,852 white: 270,78 black. |
| 1790 | 747,610 | U. S. Census—Leading Pennsylvania, next in population, by over 300,000. |
| 1795 | 880,200 | U. S. Census. |
| 1800 | 886,149 | U. S. Census. |
| 1810 | 974,622 | U. S. Census. |
| 1820 | 1,065,366 | U. S. Census. Included in the estimate were 425,153 slaves and 34,600 free blacks. |
| 1830 | 1,211,405 | |
| 1840 | 1,239,797 | |
| 1850 | 1,421,661 | |
| 1860 | 1,596,318 | |
| 1870 | 1,225,183 | Loss by war and formation of the new state of West Virginia. |
| 1880 | 1,512,565 | |
| 1890 | 1,655,980 | |
| 1900 | 1,854,184 | |
| 1910 | 2,061,612 | |
| 1920 | 2,306,361 |
| City | Year | Population | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 1793 | Less than 2,000 | |
| " | 1800 | Less than 5.739 | |
| " | 1810 | Less than 9,735 | |
| " | 1820 | Less than 12,067 | |
| Norfolk | 1820 | Less than 8,478 | |
| Lynchburg | 1820 | Less than 5,000 | In 1793 Lynchburg contained only 5 houses. |
| Petersburg | 1820 | Less than 6,690 | |
| Fredericksburg | 1820 | Less than 4,000 | |
| Williamsburg | 1820 | Less than 1,402 |