Virginia is called a commonwealth because, like all of the United States, its government is comprised of and run by the people, as opposed to rule by a monarch. In U.S. law, there really isn’t a difference between the meanings of “commonwealth” and “state.”. read more
A commonwealth is technically a state or country that has a representative government. So, technically all states are commonwealths. Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia however, decide to designate themselves as a commonwealth, but that’s about it, it’s not any difference from other states. read more