Gloucester County
Also known as Gloucester County, Virginia, Gloucester County, VA
county in Virginia, United States
Key facts
- Country
- United States
- State
- Virginia
- Named after
- Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester
- Seat
- Gloucester Courthouse
- Largest community
- Gloucester Point
- Total
- 288 sq mi (750 km )
- Land
- 218 sq mi (560 km )
- Water
- 70 sq mi (180 km ) 24.4%
- Estimate 2025
- 40,097
- Density
- 178/sq mi (68.6/km )
- Time zone
- UTC−5 ( Eastern )
- Summer dst
- UTC−4 ( EDT )
- Congressional district
Article
Gloucester County (/ˈɡlɒs.tər/, GLOSS-tər) is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,711. Its county seat is Gloucester Courthouse. The county was founded in 1651 in the Virginia Colony and is named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (third son of King Charles I of England).
Gloucester County is included in the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located at the east end of the lower part of the Middle Peninsula, it is bordered on the south by the York River and the lower Chesapeake Bay on the east. The waterways shaped its development. Gloucester County is about 60 miles (97 km) east of Virginia's capital, Richmond.