Town · Accomack County, Virginia

Chincoteague, Virginia

Chincoteague is a town in Accomack County, Virginia. It has 3,296 residents. Chincoteague, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 56 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,897 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #240 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), rent as share of income (low) and drinking water violations (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), natural hazard risk (high) and dental care shortage (high).

56Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,897 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #240 of 375 in VA
Population: 3,296 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 355.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 5116512

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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
Economy39#9,525/15,631
Housing84#2,371/14,977
Health39#9,495/15,609
Healthcare19#12,713/15,650
Environment75#3,791/15,453
Education58#6,508/15,649
Infrastructure58#6,535/15,650
Community53#7,345/15,651
Leisure & amenities73#4,156/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chincoteague, 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

Restaurants and bars · high15.4 /10k
95/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAccomack County value
Rent as share of income · low22.7%
93/100Virginia 29.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Virginia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAccomack County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.4 µg/m³
84/100Virginia 7.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAccomack County value
Students per teacher · low12.0×
84/100Virginia 13.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsAccomack County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.55%
83/100Virginia 0.78%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

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
2,899 (2015-2019) → 3,296 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.5% (2015-2019) → 91.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedImproving
3.7 /1k (2021) → 5.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+58%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.7% (2015-2019) → 38.0% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
High school diploma or higherImproving
87.2% (2015-2019) → 94.5% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
12.6% (2015-2019) → 5.8% (2020-2024)
−6.8 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, Chincoteague, Virginia improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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

Bachelor's++10 points27.7% → 38.0%
Broadband+12 points79.5% → 91.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Chincoteague, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.0 min2015-2019	16.7 min2020-2024	−6.3 min	Within the margin of error	94%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.7%2015-2019	38.0%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	91%
Broadband subscriptions	79.5%2015-2019	91.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	67%
Effective property tax rate	0.55%2015-2019	0.55%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	16%
High school diploma or higher	87.2%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	+7.3 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Home price to income ratio	5.3×2015-2019	5.6×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	64%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4832015-2019	0.4282020-2024	−0.055	Within the margin of error	86%
Median household income	$52,8482015-2019	$62,9172020-2024	+19%	Within the margin of error	31%
Poverty rate	9.7%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.0%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	28.2%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.6%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Within the margin of error	92%

“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 Chincoteague, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chincoteague, 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, Chincoteague, Virginia itself moved +9.4 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

3,296 residents (±25)

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

1,714 households (±110)

Chincoteague, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k12%†204
$25k–50k30%†506
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,714 households (±110)

Chincoteague, Virginia
Virginia share

Own78%1,343
Rent22%†371

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

† 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

1,244 workers (±145)

Chincoteague, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone71%889
Carpool8.8%†109
Public transit0.0%0

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 Chincoteague'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

In FY2026, an estimated $5.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chincoteague, Virginia: $1,622 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5.3M; +2.2% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,622; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.3%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.6%; 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

Top recipients

MCKENZIE CONSTRUCTION & SITE DEVELOPMENT LLC$3.8M71%
TURNER STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES, LLC$1.7M32%
AAECON GENERAL CONTRACTING LLC$244.7K4.6%
S3 SOLUTIONS ONE LLC$50.6K0.9%
HERC RENTALS INC$41.9K0.8%

Spending by fiscal year

637.1KFY2017
740.7KFY2018
733.3KFY2019
904.9KFY2020
806.2KFY2021
193.4KFY2022
528.6KFY2023
482K

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$5.8M100%
Special food services · 7223$47.2K0.9%
Automotive equipment rental and leasing · 5321$41.9K0.8%
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$36.9K0.7%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$32K0.6%
Water, sewage and other systems · 2213$22.9K0.4%

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

Chincoteague, Virginia's figures are part of those of Accomack County, VA ($117.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 4.5% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Chincoteague 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.

Chincoteague, 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
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/5116512

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends