Hampton Roads, Virginia, USA

Hampton Roads - where Virginia meets the sea. Historically prominent since 1607, Hampton Roads is located on the mid-Atlantic seaboard at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The earliest English settlers dubbed the waters that surround the area Hampton Roads because back then, the best "roads" were on the water. Though today we have roads of a different type, it's the water that defines and binds our part of beautiful southeastern Virginia.

The cities of Chesapeake, Gloucester, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Poquoson Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg/James City County, and York County offer the resources and services that support business and industry, enhance the quality of life of its citizens and position Hampton Roads for the future.

For in-depth information, statistics, site search and selection assistance, and other business location services handled in confidence and at no cost, contact Forward Hampton Roads, the economic development arm of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

Virginia's Hampton Roads embodies every aspect of the Old English nautical term "roads", meaning a place near shore where a ship can ride safely at anchor. Here, three rivers pour into the Chesapeake Bay to form the world's largest natural harbor, Hampton Roads. The region surrounding the harbor is also referred to as Hampton Roads, officially designated the Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News MSA.

At the East Coast's midpoint, Hampton Roads encompasses two areas: the Virginia Peninsula, north of the harbor, and South Hampton Roads which consists of five independent cities; Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.

Where Virginia Meets the Sea

The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce promotes the business advantages of each of the South Hampton Roads cities' unique characteristics and the collective attributes of the region which bring together:
The making of Network Hampton Roads