Latest Census city estimates released May 14, 2026 · Population as of July 1, 2025 · Next city estimates scheduled for May 2027. Release schedule
Richmond, Virginia population is 237,257 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #96 nationally and #3 in Virginia. Cost of living runs 2.1% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); the four-person spending scenario corresponds to modeled gross income of $122,164/yr (TY2026 tax assumptions; partial scenario excluding unverified local income tax). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
237,257 people live in Richmond as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #96 largest U.S. city.
How big is Richmond?
Richmond covers 59.9 square miles of land and 2.6 square miles of water. Its population density is about 3,959 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 4.7% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 226,522 → 2025: 237,257 (+4.7%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
226,522
April 1, 2020
2020
226,927
July 1, 2020
2021
227,229
July 1, 2021
2022
228,936
July 1, 2022
2023
230,804
July 1, 2023
2024
234,807
July 1, 2024
2025
237,257
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 12.8% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Richmond is the #96 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #3 in Virginia.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
226,522
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+10,735
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+4.7%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+2,450
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+1.0%
within V2025 only
Density
3,959
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
59.9
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#96
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#3
of 227 in Virginia
What is the median household income in Richmond?
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: household income $80,734 ± $166; per-capita income $44,673 ± $122. Margins are at 90% confidence. Comparison badges describe point estimates; they are not significance tests.
Median household income is 20% below the U.S. median ($64,587 vs $80,734); 18.2% live in poverty, 5.7 points above the 12.5% U.S. estimate.
Median household income$64,587
US
Richmond: $64,587 — 20% below the US median of $80,734.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data; censored rows retained in the distribution
Richmond
$64,587
United States
$80,734
Income and poverty estimates for Richmond from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
$64,587-20.0% vs US
±$1,911
Per capita income
$45,790+2.5% vs US
±$1,069
Population in poverty
18.2% ± 1.2 percentage points
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 6% above the U.S. median ($353,000 vs $332,700); median rent is 3% below ($1,372 vs $1,413); the ratio of median home value to median household income is 5.5× versus 4.1× nationally; this compares two distributions and does not measure an individual household's housing burden.
Median home value$353,000
US
Richmond: $353,000 — 6% above the US median of $332,700.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data; censored rows retained in the distribution
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,655/mo
US
Richmond: $1,655/mo — 54% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: home value $332,700 ± $236; gross rent $1,413 ± $2. Comparison badges describe estimates and do not establish statistical significance.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median value, owner-occupied units
$353,000+6.1% vs US
±$7,576
Median gross rent
$1,372-2.9% vs US
±$20
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR (FY2026)
$1,655-17.1% vs US
Richmond, VA HUD Metro FMR Area· 40th-percentile gross rent · HUD methodology
Owner-occupied share
43.5% ± 1.0 percentage points
of occupied housing units
Price-to-income ratio
5.5x± 0.20x approximate 90% MOE+32.6% vs US
median home value ÷ median household income · U.S. ratio: 4.1x
Rent-burdened (≥30% of income)
52.0% ± 2.3 percentage points+1.8% vs US
renters with a computed rent/income ratio · U.S. share: 51.1%
Severely rent-burdened (≥50%)
27.9% ± 1.7 percentage points+7.7% vs US
renters with a computed rent/income ratio · U.S. share: 25.9%
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2025 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Richmond. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.7%
Richmond (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
130,766
2025 annual avg
Worked from home
19.5% ± 0.9 percentage points+29.1% vs US
share of workers 16+ working from home · U.S. share: 15.1% · ACS
County context — Richmond sits in Richmond city:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Richmond city
18.2%
$63,865
3.7%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Richmond's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2025 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
26,352
$1,442 / wk
#2
Administrative and waste services (56)
12,275
$1,230 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
12,230
$603 / wk
#4
Professional and technical services (54)
11,432
$2,610 / wk
#5
Management of companies (55)
9,234
$3,142 / wk
What workers earn in the Richmond, VA metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Fast Food and Counter Workers is the largest tracked occupation in the Richmond, VA metro (17,100 jobs, median $29,500/yr).
▸Show all 12 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
17,100
$29,500
$14.19
Cashiers
14,460
$30,350
$14.59
Stockers and Order Fillers
12,300
$37,180
$17.87
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
11,570
$29,360
$14.12
Customer Service Representatives
10,960
$42,660
$20.51
Office Clerks, General
10,890
$46,320
$22.27
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
16,210
$33,580
$16.14
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
15,770
$108,670
$52.24
Registered Nurses · benchmark
15,700
$93,580
$44.99
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
11,760
$58,190
$27.98
Software Developers · benchmark
7,680
$132,120
$63.52
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 2.1% below the U.S. average (RPP 97.9); utilities run 10.8% below (RPP 89.2) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 97.9
US
Richmond's cost of living runs 2.1% below the U.S. average (RPP 97.9 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 97.9
−2.1% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Richmond, VA metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,655/mo
FY2026 · Richmond, VA HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
5.75%
4 brackets · TY2026
Four-person monthly spending scenario
$10,180/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
One-person monthly spending scenario
$4,224/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
Local income tax
—
Unverified and excluded from the spending scenario; not a verified zero
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
8.4% ± 0.6 percentage points foreign-born (U.S. share 14.1%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (8.4% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Richmond's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
Hottest month: July (89°F avg high). Coldest: January (28°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 46.4 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Richmond from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Natural-hazard exposure for Richmond from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Richmond?
8 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 39% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Richmond from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of December 31, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
8 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
7
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
67.5%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
38.7%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
126,861
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of December 31, 2025 · methodology →
How much crime is reported in Richmond?
In 2024, law enforcement reported 781 violent and 7,370 property offenses in the Richmond jurisdiction — a violent-crime rate of 336.9 per 100,000, below the U.S. estimate of 359.1.
Reported offenses known to law enforcement from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program (CIUS Table 8), 2024. Figures describe the FBI agency jurisdiction: Richmond — an FBI jurisdiction population of 231,805, versus the Census place population of 237,257. The rate per 100,000 is the FBI's own (count ÷ that jurisdiction population), never divided by the Census place figure. These are reported crimes under voluntary participation — not measured or victimization crime — and the FBI cautions against using them to rank or compare places. See methodology §31.
Offenses known, 2024
Count
Rate /100k
U.S. rate
Violent crime
781
336.9
359.1
Property crime
7,370
3,179.4
1,760.1
▸Offense breakdown and 3-year trend
Offense, 2024
Count
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter
56
Rape
43
Robbery
219
Aggravated assault
463
Burglary
615
Larceny-theft
5,533
Motor vehicle theft
1,222
Arson (12-month reporters only)
34
Year
Violent /100k
Property /100k
Jurisdiction pop.
2022
359.8
3,432.6
227,323
2023
357.5
3,720.7
230,789
2024
336.9
3,179.4
231,805
Only years the agency reported a complete 12 months appear; the FBI does not estimate missing agency-years, so a gap is a non-reporting year, not zero crime.
U.S. rate is the FBI national estimate (imputes non-reporting agencies); the city figures are reported-only. Source: FBI UCR CIUS Table 8 (2022–2024) · FBI agency jurisdiction: Richmond · methodology → · FBI Crime Data Explorer →
In-state context.
Richmond sits at state rank #3 among 227 cities in Virginia. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Boise City, ID · #95 · 238,429 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Frisco, TX · #97 · 236,955 residents.
Quick travel facts for Richmond
Quick travel facts.
Elevation
73 ft · at city centroid, from USGS 3D Elevation Program
Nearest scheduled-service airport
Richmond International Airport(RIC) · 9 mi 14 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Apr, Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS 3DEP · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (OurAirports type=large/medium and scheduled_service=yes; not an FAA service classification) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Richmond.
How many people live in Richmond, VA?
Richmond has 237,257 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #96 largest city in the United States and #3 in Virginia. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Richmond growing or shrinking?
Richmond has grown 4.7% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 10,735 residents, including a 1.0% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Richmond's population in the 2020 census?
The GEOID for Richmond is 5167000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
