Census-designated place · Goochland County, Virginia

Goochland, Virginia

Goochland is a census-designated place in Goochland County, Virginia, part of the Richmond, VA metro area. It has 1,182 residents. Goochland, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 92 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,282 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #106 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), math scores (high) and average weekly wage (high). It ranks worst on distance to an emergency room (high), dentists (low) and grocery stores (low).

92Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,282 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #106 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,182 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 226.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 5131808

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety67#5,204/15,637
Economy97#548/15,631
Housing—
Health82#2,777/15,609
Healthcare67#5,231/15,650
Environment89#1,666/15,453
Education98#344/15,649
Infrastructure54#7,181/15,650
Community79#3,342/15,651
Leisure & amenities54#7,125/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Voter turnout · high89.9%
100/100Virginia 70.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionGoochland County value
Math scores · high3.72
100/100Virginia 3.27United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGoochland County value
Average weekly wage · high$2,477
99/100Virginia $1,540United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGoochland County value
Food environment index · high9.7
99/100Virginia 8.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGoochland County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.3%
99/100Virginia 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Virginia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Weaknesses

Distance to an emergency room · high16.5 mi
6/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesGoochland County value
Dentists · low26 /100k
8/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGoochland County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
16/100Virginia 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGoochland County value
Mental health providers · low110 /100k
16/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGoochland County value
Drought exposure · high72%
21/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAGoochland County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.493
22/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

PopulationRising
898 (2015-2019) → 1,182 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
95.5% (2015-2019) → 84.9% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
44.8% (2015-2019) → 51.4% (2020-2024)
+6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.406 (2015-2019) → 0.493 (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Average commute timeImproving
32.8 min (2015-2019) → 27.3 min (2020-2024)
−17%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Unemployment rateImproving
2.8% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−2.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Goochland, Virginia improved on 0 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Goochland, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.8 min2015-2019	27.3 min2020-2024	−5.6 min	Within the margin of error	92%
Bachelor's degree or higher	44.8%2015-2019	51.4%2020-2024	+6.6 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Broadband subscriptions	95.5%2015-2019	84.9%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	1%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	97.0%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4062015-2019	0.4932020-2024	+0.087	Within the margin of error	6%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	56%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 6681 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 Goochland, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Goochland, 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 Goochland, Virginia five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Goochland, Virginia itself moved −20.3 points in standing on average over the same 6 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

1,182 residents (±421)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 women (+13.9 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,182 residents (±421)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

White100%†1,182
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino0.0%0

Education

537 residents (±188)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma5.0%†27
High school or GED25%†132
Some college14%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

305 households (±104)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k0.0%0
$25k–50k36%†110
$50k–75k11%†33
$75k–100k11%†34
$100k–150k0.0%0
$150k–200k8.5%†26
$200k or more33%†102

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (+27.4 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

305 households (±104)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

Own92%†280
Rent8.2%†25

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

25 households (±38)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $750100%†25
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,5000.0%0

Home values

280 homes (±105)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k15%†41
$150k–250k4.6%†13
$250k–400k24%†68

Age of homes

319 homes (±103)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later16%†51
2000–200960%†191
1980–19999.4%†30

Size of homes

319 homes (±103)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms31%†98

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

458 workers (±201)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone67%†309
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit0.0%0
Walk5.5%†25
Bike0.0%0
Work from home27%†124
Other0.0%0

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

334 workers (±142)

Goochland, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min6.3%†21
15–29 min46%†152
30–44 min44%†148

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Goochland County, the county holding most of Goochland's residents.

Goochland County has 756 employer establishments, 277 for every 10,000 residents (1.12× the US rate of 248; 1.15× Virginia's), with 24,730 paid employees at an average annual pay of $140,482. The Census Bureau also counts 2,811 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 756; 2,811 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 277; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 24,730
Average annual pay: $140,482; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	77	28.2	1.82×More than typical	627	$68,831	186
Services to buildings and dwellings	50	18.3	2.72×More than typical	388	$41,423	129
Construction of buildings	46	16.9	2.23×More than typical	211	$78,991	94
Landscaping services	42	15.4	4.40×More than typical	347	$42,205	73
Lessors of real estate	36	13.2	1.07×About typical	260	$66,308	439
Religious organizations	30	11	1.98×More than typical	170	$32,841	—
Management, scientific and technical consulting	28	10.3	1.53×More than typical	59	$95,254	165
Ambulatory health care services	27	9.9	0.48×Fewer than typical	176	$75,750	137
Restaurants and other eating places	27	9.9	0.54×Fewer than typical	475	$24,945	11
Building equipment contractors	25	9.2	1.52×More than typical	151	$46,179	40
Other specialty trade contractors	23	8.4	3.36×More than typical	328	$86,006	70
Building finishing contractors	17	6.2	1.64×More than typical	95	$54,863	50

Rank places for an industry Open Goochland County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 27,272 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 $998 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Goochland, Virginia: $0.84 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $998; −11% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.84; US $1,995
Sole-source: 100%; 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

Federal Aviation Administration$998100%

Top recipients

FINITE MATTERS LTD.$998100%

Spending by fiscal year

4.1KFY2017
-10.6FY2018
1.5KFY2019
-441.6FY2020
1.6KFY2021
1.6KFY2022
1.6KFY2023
31FY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Software publishers · 5132$998100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Goochland, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Goochland, Virginia's figures are part of those of Goochland County, VA ($281.9K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Goochland 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.

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

House

John J. McGuire IIIR-VA-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.6%

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.

Goochland County98100% 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
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/5131808

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends