County outline
Where Covington city is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 96.5% of Covington city’s measured area and water for 3.5%. Its combined area converts to 14.7 square kilometers or approximately 3,629 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 5.469 | 14.165 | 3,500.2 |
| Water | 0.201 | 0.521 | 128.6 |
| Total | 5.67 | 14.685 | 3,628.8 |
How Covington city compares
By original Census land area, Covington city ranks #130 of 133 in Virginia and #3218 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.018 times the Virginia county-equivalent median of 310 square miles. It accounts for 0% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Virginia ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Covington city
The Census Bureau estimates that 5,680 people lived in Covington city on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,836 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #128 of 133 in Virginia. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 5,749, the population has declined by 69 (−1.2%), compared with +2.9% for Virginia as a whole.
With 5.5 square miles of land, that is 1,039 people per square mile (401 per km²), placing Covington city #179 nationally for density and #33 in Virginia. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Virginia median is 109. Put another way, there are about 0.616 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 5,747 | 5,719 | 5,671 | 5,600 | 5,688 | 5,680 |
| Change | — | −28 | −48 | −71 | +88 | −8 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Covington city
Every resident of Covington city lives within Covington city. The city and the county equivalent cover the same territory, 5.469 square miles of land in the 2026 place Gazetteer, so there are no separate towns or unincorporated areas to list.
Metropolitan area
Covington city is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
1 ZIP Code Tabulation Area has land in Covington city; 0 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
24426
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Covington city
Covington city shares a land border with 1 county equivalent. Alleghany County has 81.7 times its land area.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Covington city | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County | 446.6 | 81.7× larger | Compare |
How big is Covington city compared with U.S. states?
Covington city has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 189 times as much. Virginia’s county land could hold about 7,219 areas the size of Covington city.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 2.34 miles (3.8 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Covington city?
Covington city has more land than 4 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Covington city at #3,219 nationally by total area, 1 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 3.5%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 2.4 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Covington city in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #3217 | Fairfax city, Virginia | 6.2 | Compare |
| #3218 | Covington city, Virginia | 5.5 | This county |
| #3219 | Cataño Municipio, Puerto Rico | 4.8 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 37.781060, -79.985434. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 14,163,840 m²; AWATER: 521,494 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Covington city?
Covington city, Virginia has 5.469 square miles (14.2 km²) of land and 0.201 square miles of water, for a total area of 5.67 square miles. It ranks #3218 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Covington city the largest county in Virginia?
No. Covington city ranks #130 of 133 in Virginia by land area. The largest is Pittsylvania County, with 969 square miles of land.
What counties border Covington city?
Covington city shares a land border with Alleghany County.
What is the population of Covington city?
The Census Bureau estimates Covington city had 5,680 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,836 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 1,039 people per square mile of land.
Is Covington city part of a metropolitan area?
No. Covington city is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Covington city?
1 ZIP Code Tabulation Area has land in Covington city, and 0 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Covington city compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 189 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Covington city?
The land measurement converts to approximately 3,500 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 3,629 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.