Census-designated place · Accomack County, Virginia

Captains Cove, Virginia

Captains Cove is a census-designated place in Accomack County, Virginia. It has 1,542 residents. Captains Cove, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 59 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,465 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #231 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on poverty rate (low), income inequality (Gini index) (low) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), natural hazard risk (high) and dental care shortage (high).

59Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,465 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #231 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,542 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 522.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 5112915

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety40#9,337/15,637
Economy88#1,845/15,631
Housing79#3,167/14,977
Health49#7,885/15,609
Healthcare12#13,741/15,650
Environment75#3,791/15,453
Education57#6,729/15,649
Infrastructure29#11,092/15,650
Community52#7,512/15,651
Leisure & amenities73#4,156/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Captains Cove, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Accomack 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

Poverty rate · low0.0%
100/100Virginia 9.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.271
99/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Restaurants and bars · high15.4 /10k
95/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAccomack County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.46%
90/100Virginia 0.78%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Unemployment rate · low1.5%
88/100Virginia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Virginia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAccomack County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Virginia 14.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAccomack County value
Natural hazard risk · high94.6
6/100Virginia 17.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyAccomack County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAccomack County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low41.6%
6/100Virginia 83.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAccomack County value
Job growth · low-2.6%
9/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataAccomack County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Virginia 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAccomack County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,077 (2015-2019) → 1,542 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
30.6% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−31 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.5% (2015-2019) → 88.5% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$56,146 (2015-2019) → $110,156 (2020-2024)
+96%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
27.8% (2015-2019) → 13.2% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Poverty rateImproving
8.0% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Captains Cove, Virginia improved on 2 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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.

Improved2

Household income+96%$56,146 → $110,156
Broadband+25 points63.5% → 88.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Captains Cove, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.8%2015-2019	36.2%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Broadband subscriptions	63.5%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	95%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.51%2015-2019	0.46%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	25%
High school diploma or higher	94.1%2015-2019	99.5%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	−0.6×	Within the margin of error	95%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3012015-2019	0.2712020-2024	−0.031	Within the margin of error	74%
Median household income	$56,1462015-2019	$110,1562020-2024	+96%	Improved	98%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Captains Cove, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Captains Cove, 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.

No place that looked like Captains Cove, Virginia five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Captains Cove, Virginia itself moved +18 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

1,542 residents (±455)

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

707 households (±196)

Captains Cove, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k3.3%†23
$25k–50k12%†82
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

707 households (±196)

Captains Cove, Virginia
Virginia share

Own98%694
Rent1.8%†13

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (−12.6 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

577 workers (±221)

Captains Cove, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone62%†360
Carpool6.2%†36
Public transit

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 Accomack County, the county holding most of Captains Cove's residents.

Accomack County has 711 employer establishments, 212 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.88× Virginia's), with 9,186 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,303. The Census Bureau also counts 2,662 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 711; 2,662 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 212; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 9,186
Average annual pay: $39,303; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	66	19.7	1.07×About typical	656	$27,500	17
Specialty trade contractors	44	13.1	0.85×About typical	181	$50,691	226
Lessors of real estate	40	11.9	0.97×About typical	112	$40,652	282
Full-service restaurants	36	10.7	1.40×More than typical	388	$27,250	7
Ambulatory health care services	35	10.4	0.50×Fewer than typical	484	$54,281	90
Religious organizations	31	9.3	1.67×More than typical	70	$18,657	—
Gasoline stations	29	8.7	2.67×More than typical	275	$27,702	—
Construction of buildings	28	8.4	1.11×About typical	97	$39,825	117
Traveler accommodation	26	7.8	4.30×More than typical	324	$26,093	11
Limited-service restaurants	22	6.6	0.82×About typical	232	$26,056	5
Building equipment contractors	21	6.3	1.04×About typical	90	$49,000	44
Automotive repair and maintenance	20	6	1.19×About typical	68	$56,353	48

Rank places for an industry Open Accomack County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 33,510 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Captains Cove is mostly in Accomack County.

See federal money in Accomack 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.

Captains Cove, 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.

Accomack County38100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Accomack 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
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/5112915

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends