Census-designated place · Isle of Wight County, Virginia

Carrollton, Virginia

Carrollton is a census-designated place in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, part of the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area. It has 8,436 residents. Carrollton, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 69 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,880 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #195 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), child poverty rate (low) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on job growth (low), dentists (low) and unemployment rate (high).

69High

Quality-of-life score: #4,880 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #195 of 375 in VA
Population: 8,436 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 1,290.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 5113160

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety57#6,770/15,637
Economy72#4,392/15,631
Housing45#8,289/14,977
Health69#4,917/15,609
Healthcare32#10,674/15,650
Environment64#5,617/15,453
Education92#1,306/15,649
Infrastructure65#5,441/15,650
Community81#2,987/15,651
Leisure & amenities23#11,987/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Carrollton, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Isle of Wight 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

Child care cost burden · low17.9%
98/100Virginia 24.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIsle of Wight County value
Child poverty rate · low1.7%
98/100Virginia 11.8%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Voter turnout · high80.3%
96/100Virginia 70.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionIsle of Wight County value
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100Virginia 47.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIsle of Wight County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Virginia 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationIsle of Wight County value
Food environment index · high9.1
89/100Virginia 8.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIsle of Wight County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-3.6%
5/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataIsle of Wight County value
Dentists · low27 /100k
8/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIsle of Wight County value
Unemployment rate · high9.7%
10/100Virginia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Public EV charging ports · low1.0 /10k
11/100Virginia 6.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyIsle of Wight County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Virginia 14.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationIsle of Wight County value
Mental health providers · low86 /100k
12/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIsle of Wight County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
6,442 (2015-2019) → 8,436 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
10.6% (2015-2019) → 1.7% (2020-2024)
−8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.0% (2015-2019) → 94.4% (2020-2024)
+8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
34.5% (2015-2019) → 39.9% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.1× (2015-2019) → 3.8× (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
9.0% (2015-2019) → 5.3% (2020-2024)
−3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Carrollton, Virginia improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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

Broadband+8.4 points86.0% → 94.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Carrollton, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.4 min2015-2019	25.8 min2020-2024	−1.6 min	Within the margin of error	67%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.5%2015-2019	39.9%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Broadband subscriptions	86.0%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	+8.4 points	Improved	51%
Effective property tax rate	0.76%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
High school diploma or higher	97.1%2015-2019	93.7%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+0.8×	Within the margin of error	33%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3762015-2019	0.3882020-2024	+0.012	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$94,8652015-2019	$110,9562020-2024	+17%	Within the margin of error	27%
Poverty rate	5.8%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.7%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	55.7%2015-2019	55.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Unemployment rate	8.1%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.0%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“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 Carrollton, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Carrollton, 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, Carrollton, Virginia itself moved −1.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

8,436 residents (±692)

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

3,115 households (±263)

Carrollton, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k11%†339
$25k–50k8.1%†252
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,115 households (±263)

Carrollton, Virginia
Virginia share

Own69%2,151
Rent31%964

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,951 workers (±418)

Carrollton, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone76%2,991
Carpool8.0%†315
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

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 Isle of Wight County, the county holding most of Carrollton's residents.

Isle of Wight County has 766 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Virginia's), with 9,183 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,862. The Census Bureau also counts 2,844 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 766; 2,844 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 9,183
Average annual pay: $55,862; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	60	14.8	0.95×About typical	345	$56,258	160
Restaurants and other eating places	56	13.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,066	$21,462	15
Ambulatory health care services	48	11.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	309	$50,294	113
Lessors of real estate	46	11.3	0.92×About typical	89	$39,472	344
Religious organizations	36	8.9	1.60×More than typical	196	$16,444	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	34	8.4	1.24×About typical	159	$44,648	172
Construction of buildings	30	7.4	0.98×About typical	77	$38,481	78
Full-service restaurants	27	6.6	0.87×About typical	498	$24,217	5
Limited-service restaurants	25	6.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	523	$20,216	8
Landscaping services	24	5.9	1.69×More than typical	99	$38,394	78
Automotive repair and maintenance	22	5.4	1.08×About typical	148	$42,345	34
Real estate agents and brokers	22	5.4	1.11×About typical	24	$59,875	106

Rank places for an industry Open Isle of Wight County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 40,627 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 $76.7K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Carrollton, Virginia: $9.09 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $76.7K; −63% vs FY2025
Per resident: $9.09; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 29%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$76.7K100%

Top recipients

J&B HARTIGAN, INC.$72.3K94%
HARTIGAN, BOWMAN, FOSTER & ASSOCIATES, INC.$4,3345.7%

Spending by fiscal year

679.9KFY2017
395.8KFY2018
708.4KFY2019
535KFY2020
457.8KFY2021
84.8KFY2022
72.3KFY2023
31KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$54.6K71%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing · 5324$17.7K23%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$4,3345.7%

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 Carrollton, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Carrollton, Virginia's figures are part of those of Isle of Wight County, VA ($1M in FY2026), never added to them: 7.4% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Carrollton is mostly in Isle of Wight County.

See federal money in Isle of Wight 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.

Carrollton, 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.

Isle of Wight County79100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC69

Other cities and towns in Isle of Wight 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/5113160

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends