Virginia Beach, Virginia had 453,737 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), 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.
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 2.8% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 437,903 → 2019: 449,974 (+2.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
437,903
April 1, 2010
2010
438,859
July 1, 2010
2011
442,583
July 1, 2011
2012
445,044
July 1, 2012
2013
447,706
July 1, 2013
2014
448,864
July 1, 2014
2015
450,304
July 1, 2015
2016
450,983
July 1, 2016
2017
449,896
July 1, 2017
2018
449,849
July 1, 2018
2019
449,974
July 1, 2019
What's the median 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.
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×).
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 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
22,220
$27,960
$13.44
Cashiers
17,380
$28,760
$13.83
Waiters and Waitresses
13,550
$36,910
$17.74
Stockers and Order Fillers
12,660
$34,810
$16.74
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
11,790
$31,490
$15.14
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
11,660
$38,540
$18.53
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
11,490
$27,780
$13.36
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
20,980
$29,790
$14.32
Registered Nurses · benchmark
16,270
$81,170
$39.03
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
15,990
$103,190
$49.61
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
8,530
$49,020
$23.57
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.
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+).
Where Virginia Beach's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
9.2%-34.6% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
87.8%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish4.3%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
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 March 2023). 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
Virginia Beach city
57.9
Relatively Low
Heat Wave · score 91.7 · Relatively Moderate
Hurricane · score 88.9 · Relatively Moderate
Lightning · score 86.5 · Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
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 →
In-state context.
Virginia Beach sits at state rank #1 among 227 cities in Virginia. Nearby in the state ranking:
Virginia Beach is ranked #43 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
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 →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
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.
