City · Colonial Heights city, Virginia

Colonial Heights, Virginia

Colonial Heights is a city in Colonial Heights city, Virginia, part of the Richmond, VA metro area. It has 18,352 residents. Colonial Heights, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,692 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #236 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), dentists (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), average weekly wage (low) and homicide rate (high).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,692 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #236 of 375 in VA
Population: 18,352 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 2,440.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 5118448

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.

Safety6#14,648/15,637
Economy52#7,563/15,631
Housing42#8,691/14,977
Health32#10,659/15,609
Healthcare62#5,901/15,650
Environment83#2,596/15,453
Education79#3,319/15,649
Infrastructure55#7,063/15,650
Community56#6,906/15,651
Leisure & amenities83#2,618/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Colonial Heights, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Colonial Heights city 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

Distance to an Amtrak station · low2 mi
100/100Virginia 14 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauColonial Heights city value
Dentists · high234 /100k
100/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColonial Heights city value
Pharmacies · high3.7 /10k
99/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsColonial Heights city value
Restaurants and bars · high16.5 /10k
96/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsColonial Heights city value
Primary care physicians · high126 /100k
95/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColonial Heights city value
Public EV charging ports · high17.1 /10k
92/100Virginia 6.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyColonial Heights city value

Weaknesses

Property crime rate · high3,538 /100k
1/100Virginia 1,354 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationColonial Heights city value
Average weekly wage · low$864
3/100Virginia $1,540United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsColonial Heights city value
Homicide rate · high10.9 /100k
7/100Virginia 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataColonial Heights city value
Life expectancy · low72.7 yrs
10/100Virginia 77.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColonial Heights city value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Virginia 14.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationColonial Heights city value
Dental care shortage · high17.0
12/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationColonial Heights city value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
17,428 (2015-2019) → 18,352 (2020-2024)
+5.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.1% (2015-2019) → 88.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
65.3% (2015-2019) → 55.5% (2020-2024)
−9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$54,550 (2015-2019) → $76,505 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
16.3% (2015-2019) → 9.0% (2020-2024)
−7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.7 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−32%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

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, Colonial Heights, Virginia improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved5

Unemployment−4.5 points8.1% → 3.6%
Child poverty−7.3 points16.3% → 9.0%
Poverty−4.2 points12.1% → 7.9%
Household income+40%$54,550 → $76,505
Broadband+11 points78.1% → 88.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Colonial Heights, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.3 min2015-2019	25.5 min2020-2024	+1.2 min	Within the margin of error	34%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.5%2015-2019	28.0%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Broadband subscriptions	78.1%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	63%
Child poverty rate	16.3%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−7.3 points	Improved	76%
Effective property tax rate	1.00%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	68%
High school diploma or higher	91.5%2015-2019	90.8%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	75%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4242015-2019	0.4212020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	53%
Median household income	$54,5502015-2019	$76,5052020-2024	+40%	Improved	74%
Poverty rate	12.1%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Improved	76%
Rent as share of income	34.6%2015-2019	31.8%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent-burdened households	65.3%2015-2019	55.5%2020-2024	−9.8 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Unemployment rate	8.1%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Improved	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.2%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	46%

“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 Colonial Heights, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Colonial Heights, 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, Colonial Heights, Virginia itself moved +5.2 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

18,352 residents

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

7,530 households (±198)

Colonial Heights, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k14%1,063
$25k–50k20%1,482
$50k–75k15%1,158

Homes

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

Owners and renters

7,530 households (±198)

Colonial Heights, Virginia
Virginia share

Own68%5,127
Rent32%2,403

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

8,646 workers (±347)

Colonial Heights, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone79%6,837
Carpool8.0%692
Public transit0.3%†26

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 Richmond, VA

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 Colonial Heights city, the county holding most of Colonial Heights's residents.

Colonial Heights city has 630 employer establishments, 342 for every 10,000 residents (1.38× the US rate of 248; 1.42× Virginia's), with 8,953 paid employees at an average annual pay of $34,047. The Census Bureau also counts 1,270 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 630; 1,270 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 342; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 8,953
Average annual pay: $34,047; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Colonial Heights city by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	83	45.1	2.45×More than typical	2,167	$20,060	8
Ambulatory health care services	71	38.6	1.85×More than typical	1,102	$51,964	44
Clothing and accessories stores	48	26.1	7.19×More than typical	644	$19,309	23
Limited-service restaurants	39	21.2	2.64×More than typical	969	$18,349	3
Full-service restaurants	36	19.6	2.55×More than typical	1,051	$21,317	4
Offices of physicians	30	16.3	2.52×More than typical	465	$78,284	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	25	13.6	2.70×More than typical	191	$45,089	16
Lessors of real estate	24	13	1.06×About typical	83	$49,446	139
Personal care services	19	10.3	2.16×More than typical	131	$30,496	95
Religious organizations	19	10.3	1.86×More than typical	124	$25,250	—
Specialty trade contractors	18	9.8	0.63×Fewer than typical	116	$47,621	85
Health and personal care stores	17	9.2	3.48×More than typical	180	$36,750	19

Rank places for an industry Open Colonial Heights city

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 18,409 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 $15.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Colonial Heights, Virginia: $853 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $15.7M; +157% vs FY2025
Per resident: $853; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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 the Army$13.4M86%
Department of the Navy$2.3M14%

Top recipients

FITT SCIENTIFIC, LLC$15.7M100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

46.8KFY2017
216.7KFY2018
2.3MFY2019
145.6KFY2020
419.1KFY2021
2MFY2022
891.8KFY2023
717.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Facilities support services · 5612$13.4M86%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$2.3M14%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Colonial Heights, Virginia

EXPEDITIONARY KNOWLEDGE BASED SERVICES CONTRACT PMO TASK ORDER$3.3M
FITT SCIENTIFIC, LLC· Colonial Heights city, VA· Professional services· Sep 4, 2025 – Feb 2, 2026· N6247025F0126
NAVFAC PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICE INFRASTRUCTURE AND EXPEDITIONARY (PEO IE), PMO 314, AND PMO 305 TASK ORDER ALPHA$1.3M
FITT SCIENTIFIC, LLC· Colonial Heights city, VA· Professional services· Apr 2, 2026 – Jun 1, 2026· N6247026F0044
THIS CONTRACT PROVIDES THE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, ENGINEERING, LOGISTICS, TRAINING SUPPORT, REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS, DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS, AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SUPPORT TO EXPEDITIONARY ENTERPRISE PARTNERS.$466.5K
FITT SCIENTIFIC, LLC· Colonial Heights city, VA· Professional services· Apr 2, 2026 – Jun 4, 2026· N6247026F0036

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 Colonial Heights, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Colonial Heights, Virginia's figures are part of those of Colonial Heights city, VA ($15.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 99.9% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Colonial Heights is mostly in Colonial Heights city.

See federal money in Colonial Heights city

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.

Colonial Heights, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jennifer L. McClellanD-VA-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.0%

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.

Colonial Heights city69100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Richmond, VA78

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/5118448

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends