Chesapeake is located in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 199,184. It has grown by about 10% since.

Chesapeake is served by U.S. Highways 13, 17, 58, and 460. Interstate 64, part of the Hampton Roads Beltway, crosses through the city, Interstate 464 is a spur which connects it with downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth at the Berkley Bridge, and Interstate 664, which completes the Interstate loop from the Western Branch section of Chesapeake through the City of Newport News and into the City of Hampton. State Route 168 is also a major highway in the area. It includes the Chesapeake Expressway.