Virginia Beach, Virginia population is 453,737 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #43 nationally and #1 in Virginia. Cost of living runs 2.1% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $106,950/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
453,737
-26 in the last year
Top 1% 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
453,737 people live in Virginia Beach as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #43 largest U.S. city.
How big is Virginia Beach?
Virginia Beach covers 244.7 square miles of land and 252.8 square miles of water. Its population density is about 1,854 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 shrank 1.2% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 459,417 → 2025: 453,737 (-1.2%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
459,417
April 1, 2020
2020
459,626
July 1, 2020
2021
458,644
July 1, 2021
2022
454,721
July 1, 2022
2023
453,402
July 1, 2023
2024
453,763
July 1, 2024
2025
453,737
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 2.5% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Virginia Beach is the #43 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #1 in Virginia.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
459,417
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
-5,680
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
-1.2%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
-26
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
-0.0%
within V2025 only
Density
1,854
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
244.7
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#43
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#1
of 227 in Virginia
What is the median household income in Virginia Beach?
Median household income is 20% above the U.S. median ($92,968 vs $77,719); 8.6% live in poverty — 3.9 points below the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Median household income$92,968
US
Virginia Beach: $92,968 — 20% above the US median of $77,719.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data
Virginia Beach
$92,968
United States
$77,719
Income and poverty estimates for Virginia Beach 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
92,968+19.6% vs US
±1,774
Per capita income
48,736+12.6% vs US
±859
Population in poverty
8.6%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 26% above the U.S. median ($382,500 vs $303,400); median rent is 27% above ($1,714 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio (4.1×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (3.9×).
Median home value$382,500
US
Virginia Beach: $382,500 — 26% 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
Virginia Beach: $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 Virginia Beach. 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)
2.7%
Virginia Beach (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
235,565
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
14.3%+2.5% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Virginia Beach sits in Virginia Beach city:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Virginia Beach city
7.9%
$93,989
2.7%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Virginia Beach'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)
24,862
$1,232 / wk
#2
Accommodation and food services (72)
23,995
$515 / wk
#3
Retail trade (44-45)
21,657
$683 / wk
#4
Professional and technical services (54)
13,791
$1,877 / wk
#5
Administrative and waste services (56)
12,022
$1,016 / 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
Virginia Beach'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
$8,913/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.
9.2% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (4.3% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Virginia Beach'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 (87°F avg high). Coldest: January (32°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 47.8 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach?
10 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 49% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Virginia Beach 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
10 + 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
63.4%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
49.3%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
212,113
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
How much crime is reported in Virginia Beach?
In 2024, law enforcement reported 420 violent and 7,464 property offenses in the Virginia Beach jurisdiction — a violent-crime rate of 92.3 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: Virginia Beach — an FBI jurisdiction population of 455,155, versus the Census place population of 453,737. 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
420
92.3
359.1
Property crime
7,464
1,639.9
1,760.1
▸Offense breakdown and 3-year trend
Offense, 2024
Count
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter
13
Rape
84
Robbery
144
Aggravated assault
179
Burglary
382
Larceny-theft
6,585
Motor vehicle theft
497
Arson (12-month reporters only)
42
Year
Violent /100k
Property /100k
Jurisdiction pop.
2022
87.4
1,610.5
457,556
2023
95.4
1,656.4
453,991
2024
92.3
1,639.9
455,155
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: Virginia Beach · methodology → · FBI Crime Data Explorer →
In-state context.
Virginia Beach sits at state rank #1 among 227 cities in Virginia. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Omaha, NE · #42 · 488,797 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Long Beach, CA · #44 · 450,469 residents.
Quick travel facts for Virginia Beach
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Norfolk International Airport(ORF) · 12 mi 20 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Apr · 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 Virginia Beach.
How many people live in Virginia Beach, VA?
Virginia Beach has 453,737 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #43 largest city in the United States and #1 in Virginia. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Virginia Beach growing or shrinking?
Virginia Beach has shrunk 1.2% since the April 2020 census baseline, losing 5,680 residents, including a 0.0% decline from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Virginia Beach's population in the 2020 census?
The GEOID for Virginia Beach is 5182000. 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.
