Hank Silverberg, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – If Virginia seems more crowded lately, that’s because it is. But the commonwealth’s growth is happening in areas some might not expect.

Virginia’s population now tops 8.1 million people, with a growth rate that’s faster than the rates of most places elsewhere in the country.

Much of that growth is concentrated in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. But the city of Fredericksburg was the state’s fastest-growing locality, growing at a rate of 4.9 percent between 2010 and 2011.

The report from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service says Fredericksburg now has 25,484 people.

Virginia grew a total of 1.2 percent between 2010 and 2011, ranking the state 13th in growth.

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