Town · Northampton County, Virginia

Cape Charles, Virginia

Cape Charles is a town in Northampton County, Virginia. It has 1,201 residents. Cape Charles, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 62 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,871 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #218 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on new homes permitted (high), dentists (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), distance to an emergency room (high) and average weekly wage (low).

62High

Quality-of-life score: #5,871 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #218 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,201 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 338.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 5112808

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety32#10,655/15,637
Economy43#8,947/15,631
Housing57#6,407/14,977
Health29#11,117/15,609
Healthcare59#6,344/15,650
Environment83#2,556/15,453
Education68#5,055/15,649
Infrastructure63#5,748/15,650
Community61#6,167/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,296/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cape Charles, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Northampton County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

New homes permitted · high72.4 /1k
100/100Virginia 4.2 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Dentists · high141 /100k
99/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorthampton County value
Pharmacies · high4.2 /10k
99/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNorthampton County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Virginia 12.0 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNorthampton County value
Restaurants and bars · high19.4 /10k
98/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNorthampton County value
Grocery stores · high3.4 /10k
96/100Virginia 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNorthampton County value

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.578
1/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Distance to an emergency room · high22.3 mi
2/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesNorthampton County value
Average weekly wage · low$870
3/100Virginia $1,540United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNorthampton County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Virginia 14.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationNorthampton County value
Traffic deaths · high36.5 /100k
4/100Virginia 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataNorthampton County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationNorthampton County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
56.4% (2015-2019) → 15.3% (2020-2024)
−41 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
46.4% (2015-2019) → 59.6% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
35.3% (2015-2019) → 46.7% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedImproving
51.1 /1k (2021) → 72.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+42%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
21.1% (2015-2019) → 13.2% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
6.3× (2015-2019) → 8.7× (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Cape Charles, Virginia improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Bachelor's++13 points46.4% → 59.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Cape Charles, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.1 min2015-2019	18.4 min2020-2024	−1.7 min	Within the margin of error	68%
Bachelor's degree or higher	46.4%2015-2019	59.6%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	95%
Broadband subscriptions	79.3%2015-2019	83.8%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Effective property tax rate	0.92%2015-2019	0.69%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
High school diploma or higher	91.6%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Home price to income ratio	6.3×2015-2019	8.7×2020-2024	+2.4×	Within the margin of error	2%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5282015-2019	0.5782020-2024	+0.050	Within the margin of error	16%
Median household income	$54,6432015-2019	$73,7502020-2024	+35%	Within the margin of error	65%
Poverty rate	21.1%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	−8 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Rent as share of income	24.0%2015-2019	29.6%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	20%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Cape Charles, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cape Charles, Virginia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Cape Charles, Virginia itself moved −4.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,201 residents (±215)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

684 households (±113)

Cape Charles, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k25%†173
$25k–50k13%†89
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

684 households (±113)

Cape Charles, Virginia
Virginia share

Own66%454
Rent34%†230

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+14.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

551 workers (±129)

Cape Charles, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone61%334
Carpool7.4%†41
Public transit4.9%†

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Northampton County, the county holding most of Cape Charles's residents.

Northampton County has 327 employer establishments, 272 for every 10,000 residents (1.09× the US rate of 248; 1.12× Virginia's), with 2,939 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,772. The Census Bureau also counts 1,165 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 327; 1,165 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 272; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 2,939
Average annual pay: $42,772; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Northampton County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	38	31.6	1.72×More than typical	428	$26,145	8
Lessors of real estate	24	19.9	1.62×More than typical	64	$45,672	151
Ambulatory health care services	18	14.9	0.72×Fewer than typical	263	$50,943	43
Full-service restaurants	17	14.1	1.84×More than typical	260	$29,892	5
Specialty trade contractors	15	12.5	0.80×About typical	69	$44,652	68
Limited-service restaurants	13	10.8	1.35×More than typical	148	$18,007	—
Gasoline stations	12	10	3.07×More than typical	134	$23,858	—
Construction of buildings	11	9.1	1.21×About typical	26	$34,077	42
Religious organizations	11	9.1	1.65×More than typical	35	$20,743	—
Traveler accommodation	9	7.5	4.14×Too few to compare	91	$19,099	12
Real estate agents and brokers	8	6.6	1.36×Too few to compare	10	$115,100	45
Snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars	8	6.6	2.63×Too few to compare	20	$37,650	—

Rank places for an industry Open Northampton County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,043 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated -$53.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cape Charles, Virginia: -$44.47 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$53.4K
Per resident: -$44.47; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Coast Guard$5,0490.0%

Top recipients

L 4 ENTERPRISES, INC.$2,4240.0%
JAFRI BROTHERS LLC$1,0140.0%
MUSTANG SURVIVAL MFG, INC$4580.0%
ACCURATE MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL, LLC$3820.0%
1ST CHOICE PEST CONTROL LLC$3120.0%
P W DAVIS DISPOSAL INC$2290.0%
GOLDBELT SECURITY LLC$1490.0%
QUANTICO TACTICAL INCORPORATED$79.570.0%

Spending by fiscal year

102.9KFY2017
23.9KFY2018
-4.7KFY2019
13.4KFY2020
24.9KFY2021
3.1KFY2022
2.1KFY2023
2.2MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$2,4240.0%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$1,0140.0%
Cut and sew apparel manufacturing · 3152$4580.0%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$3820.0%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$3120.0%
Waste collection · 5621

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Cape Charles, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Cape Charles is mostly in Northampton County.

See federal money in Northampton County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Cape Charles, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jennifer A. KiggansR-VA-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 95%Missed 1.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Northampton County57100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Northampton County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5112808

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends