Suffolk, Virginia population is 104,699 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #321 nationally and #8 in Virginia. Cost of living runs 2.1% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $103,813/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
At a glance.
2025 population
104,699
+1,692 in the last year
Top 2% of 19,483 U.S. cities
Census Vintage 2025
Cost of living
RPP 97.9
−2.1% vs US
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro · BEA 2024
Family-of-4 budget
$103,812/yr
+30% vs US
Modeled 2025 · federal sources
Median HH income
$92,666
+19% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
Median home value
$347,400
+15% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
2-BR fair-market rent
$1,713/mo
HUD FY2026 · 40th pct
Avg July high
89°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
46%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Explore Suffolk, VA demographics, including age, race and ethnicity, households, origins, language, and education.
How many people live in Suffolk?
104,699 people live in Suffolk as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #321 largest U.S. city.
How big is Suffolk?
Suffolk covers 399.2 square miles of land and 29.7 square miles of water. Its population density is about 262 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 10.9% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 94,431 → 2025: 104,699 (+10.9%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
94,431
April 1, 2020
2020
94,818
July 1, 2020
2021
96,426
July 1, 2021
2022
98,626
July 1, 2022
2023
100,927
July 1, 2023
2024
103,007
July 1, 2024
2025
104,699
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 8.6% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Suffolk is the #321 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #8 in Virginia.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
94,431
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+10,268
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+10.9%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+1,692
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+1.6%
within V2025 only
Density
262
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
399.2
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#321
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#8
of 227 in Virginia
What is the median household income in Suffolk?
Median household income is 19% above the U.S. median ($92,666 vs $77,719); 9.4% live in poverty — 3.1 points below the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Median household income$92,666
US
Suffolk: $92,666 — 19% above the US median of $77,719.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data
Suffolk
$92,666
United States
$77,719
Income and poverty estimates for Suffolk 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
92,666+19.2% vs US
±3,881
Per capita income
45,819+5.8% vs US
±1,874
Population in poverty
9.4%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 15% above the U.S. median ($347,400 vs $303,400); median rent is 16% above ($1,563 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio (3.7×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (3.9×).
Median home value$347,400
US
Suffolk: $347,400 — 15% above the US median of $303,400.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,713/mo
US
Suffolk: $1,713/mo — 59% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Suffolk. 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)
3.0%
Suffolk (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
49,927
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
10.7%-23.7% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Suffolk sits in Suffolk city:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Suffolk city
8.3%
$93,557
3.0%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Suffolk's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
5,273
$1,226 / wk
#2
Retail trade (44-45)
3,960
$619 / wk
#3
Professional and technical services (54)
3,644
$2,417 / wk
#4
Accommodation and food services (72)
3,153
$455 / wk
#5
Transportation and warehousing (48-49)
2,868
$945 / wk
What workers earn in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro (22,520 jobs, median $28,780/yr).
▸Show all 13 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
22,520
$28,780
$13.84
Cashiers
16,840
$29,320
$14.10
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
13,920
$39,160
$18.83
Stockers and Order Fillers
13,750
$35,120
$16.88
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
13,650
$28,420
$13.66
Waiters and Waitresses
13,100
$39,020
$18.76
Office Clerks, General
12,490
$44,630
$21.46
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
20,890
$30,820
$14.82
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
17,400
$100,340
$48.24
Registered Nurses · benchmark
16,870
$89,450
$43.00
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
7,460
$50,460
$24.26
Software Developers · benchmark
7,160
$129,090
$62.06
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 2.1% below the U.S. average (RPP 97.9); utilities run 10.4% below (RPP 89.6) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 97.9
US
Suffolk'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 · Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,713/mo
FY2026 · Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
5.75%
4 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,651/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,973/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Virginia · no modeled local income tax
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.
Hottest month: July (89°F avg high). Coldest: January (30°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 49.7 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Suffolk 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 Suffolk 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.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Suffolk city
60.1
Relatively Low
Drought 93.1 Relatively High · Winter Weather 91.2 Relatively High · Hurricane 88.2 Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Suffolk?
11 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 46% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Suffolk from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 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
11 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
9
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
52.4%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
45.5%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
46,944
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Suffolk sits at state rank #8 among 227 cities in Virginia. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Fishers, IN · #320 · 104,812 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Lynn, MA · #322 · 104,236 residents.
Quick travel facts for Suffolk
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Norfolk International Airport(ORF) · 28 mi 44 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Apr, May · 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 Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Suffolk.
How many people live in Suffolk, VA?
Suffolk has 104,699 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #321 largest city in the United States and #8 in Virginia. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Suffolk growing or shrinking?
Suffolk has grown 10.9% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 10,268 residents, including a 1.6% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
The GEOID for Suffolk is 5176432. 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.
