Riva is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,257 at the 2020 census. The area is scenic, especially where the two-lane Riva Road crosses the South River on a bridge. The area is growing with large new homes as the suburbs of Annapolis grow outward. Riva is bordered by Annapolis to the north, Edgewater to the east, and Davidsonville to the west.