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Ham radio operators in Virginia: new licenses by county

20,451 licensed amateur radio operators; 700 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
48
New hams · last 12 months
700
▼ 3% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
20,451
Upgrades · 12 mo
311
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
193
Address updates · 12 mo
298
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
1,090

About ham radio in Virginia

New licenses held steady in Virginia: 700 new hams in the past 12 months (down 3% from the year before). Virginia ranks #11 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Fairfax County leads the state with 113 new hams. Among larger counties and independent cities, City of Virginia Beach is growing fastest. Technicians make up 45% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, a sign of an experienced community with many HF operators.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Virginia, October 2025 to September 2026 701 in total. Highest: 83 in August 2026. Lowest: 1 in October 2025. Down 3% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 1 new ham 1 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 49 new hams 49 Nov Dec 2025: 63 new hams 63 Dec Jan 2026: 50 new hams 50 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 66 new hams 66 Feb Mar 2026: 71 new hams 71 Mar Apr 2026: 59 new hams 59 Apr May 2026: 75 new hams 75 May Jun 2026: 82 new hams 82 Jun Jul 2026: 51 new hams 51 Jul Aug 2026: 83 new hams 83 Aug Sep 2026: 51 new hams 51 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Virginia
MonthNew hams
Oct 20251
Nov 202549
Dec 202563
Jan 202650
Feb 202666
Mar 202671
Apr 202659
May 202675
Jun 202682
Jul 202651
Aug 202683
Sep 202651
Total701

License classes

Active licensees in Virginia by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 9,12645%48%
General 5,30426%25%
Amateur Extra 4,92424%21%
Advanced 7033%3%
Novice / Other 3942%2%

Bar = Virginia share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 127 operators upgraded to General and 167 to Amateur Extra.

How Virginia compares

#11 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsVirginiaU.S.
New hams, past 12 months34.232.3
Upgrades, past 12 months15.214.7
Expiring, next 6 months53.357.3

700 new hams in Virginia this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 10 Virginia counties and independent cities for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Fairfax County113▼ 6%2,88839.1
2Loudoun County42▼ 21%1,19535.1
3Prince William County34▼ 11%94336.1
4City of Virginia Beach30▲ 50%76139.4
5Arlington County26▼ 4%54148.1
6Henrico County20▲ 33%49840.2
7City of Chesapeake18▼ 25%46538.7
8Stafford County17▲ 6%43339.3
9Chesterfield County15▼ 40%62124.2
10Spotsylvania County14▲ 8%43931.9

All Virginia counties and independent cities

51 counties and independent cities with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Virginia counties and independent cities

These 82 counties and independent cities have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 82 smaller counties and independent cities
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Alleghany County452
Amelia County391
Appomattox County505
Bath County130
Bland County250
Brunswick County160
Buchanan County360
Buckingham County371
Caroline County610
Charles City County80
Charlotte County170
City of Bristol591
City of Buena Vista210
City of Colonial Heights250
City of Covington200
City of Danville341
City of Emporia20
City of Fairfax572
City of Falls Church470
City of Franklin90
City of Fredericksburg580
City of Galax230
City of Harrisonburg692
City of Hopewell301
City of Lexington110
City of Manassas Park220
City of Martinsville261
City of Norton60
City of Petersburg210
City of Poquoson501
City of Portsmouth1292
City of Radford290
City of Salem553
City of Staunton661
City of Waynesboro601
City of Williamsburg481
City of Winchester580
Clarke County660
Craig County281
Cumberland County181
Dickenson County381
Dinwiddie County531
Essex County221
Floyd County772
Fluvanna County1070
Giles County730
Goochland County994
Greensville County70
Halifax County702
Henry County831
Highland County160
Isle of Wight County1321
King and Queen County180
King William County351
Lancaster County540
Lee County590
Lunenburg County252
Madison County531
Mathews County473
Middlesex County361
Nelson County622
New Kent County622
Northampton County100
Northumberland County761
Nottoway County372
Page County620
Patrick County641
Prince Edward County411
Prince George County660
Pulaski County881
Rappahannock County323
Richmond County110
Rockbridge County782
Russell County532
Scott County742
Smyth County614
Southampton County201
Surry County211
Sussex County90
Tazewell County1211
Westmoreland County630
Wythe County852

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Virginia

How many ham radio operators are in Virginia?

20,451 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Virginia as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Virginia last year?

700 people in Virginia received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Virginia counties and independent cities have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Fairfax County (113), Loudoun County (42) and Prince William County (34).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

100% of Virginia licensees could be matched to a county.