Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C. It is the most populous region of both Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area.

Communities in the region form the Virginia portion of the Washington Metropolitan Area, Metropolitan Statistical Area and the larger Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area . Northern Virginia is the highest-income region of Virginia, having six of the twenty highest-income counties in the nation, including the two highest as of 2007.

Northern Virginia's transportation infrastructure includes major airports Washington National and Dulles International, several lines of theWashington Metro subway system, the Virginia Railway Express suburban commuter rail system, transit bus services, and an extensive network of Interstate highways and expressways.

Notable features of the region include the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, and the many companies which serve them and the federal government. The area's attractions include various monuments and Colonial and Civil War-era sites such as Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery. It is the most affluent region in the nation.