City · Richmond city, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is a city in Richmond city, Virginia, part of the Richmond, VA metro area. It has 229,359 residents. Richmond, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 48 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,134 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #273 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an emergency room (low), dentists (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and homicide rate (high).

48Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,134 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #273 of 375 in VA
Population: 229,359 (2020-2024)
Land area: 60 mi²
Density: 3,827.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 5167000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety4#15,087/15,637
Economy32#10,657/15,631
Housing36#9,603/14,977
Health26#11,525/15,609
Healthcare72#4,336/15,650
Environment96#554/15,453
Education46#8,467/15,649
Infrastructure56#6,900/15,650
Community43#8,862/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,600/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Richmond, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Richmond 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 emergency room · low2.0 mi
100/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRichmond city value
Dentists · high156 /100k
100/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRichmond city value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low3 mi
99/100Virginia 14 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauRichmond city value
Natural hazard risk · low1.2
99/100Virginia 17.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyRichmond city value
Distance to an airport · low9 mi
95/100Virginia 32 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauRichmond city value
Restaurants and bars · high13.9 /10k
93/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRichmond city value

Weaknesses

Property crime rate · high3,323 /100k
1/100Virginia 1,354 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationRichmond city value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.513
3/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Homicide rate · high14.8 /100k
3/100Virginia 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRichmond city value
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRichmond city value
Injury deaths · high145 /100k
4/100Virginia 78 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRichmond city value
Reading scores · low2.63
5/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRichmond city value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
4.7 /1k (2021) → 13.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+191%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.4% (2015-2019) → 86.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
37.0% (2015-2019) → 28.1% (2020-2024)
−8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,250 (2015-2019) → $64,587 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
39.6% (2015-2019) → 45.6% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateImproving
23.2% (2015-2019) → 18.2% (2020-2024)
−5 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, Richmond, Virginia improved on 9 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 4 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.

Improved9

High school++4.8 points85.4% → 90.2%
Child poverty−8.9 points37.0% → 28.1%
Poverty−5 points23.2% → 18.2%
Uninsured−3.5 points13.6% → 10.2%
Inequality−0.0320.545 → 0.513

Declined2

Transit use−2.8 points5.7% → 2.9%
Price / income+0.6×4.9× → 5.5×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Richmond, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.8 min2015-2019	21.7 min2020-2024	−0.1 min	Within the margin of error	49%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.6%2015-2019	45.6%2020-2024	+6 points	Improved	74%
Broadband subscriptions	75.4%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	63%
Child poverty rate	37.0%2015-2019	28.1%2020-2024	−8.9 points	Improved	80%
Effective property tax rate	0.96%2015-2019	0.90%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	85.4%2015-2019	90.2%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Improved	81%
Home price to income ratio	4.9×2015-2019	5.5×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5452015-2019	0.5132020-2024	−0.032	Improved	75%
Median household income	$47,2502015-2019	$64,5872020-2024	+37%	Improved	68%
Poverty rate	23.2%2015-2019	18.2%2020-2024	−5 points	Improved	80%
Public transit commuters	5.7%2015-2019	2.9%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Declined	11%
Rent as share of income	32.7%2015-2019	31.1%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Improved	67%
Rent-burdened households	54.7%2015-2019	52.0%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Unemployment rate	6.5%2015-2019	5.7%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.6%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Improved	79%

“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 Richmond, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Richmond, 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, Richmond, Virginia itself moved +4.7 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

229,359 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

104,321 households (±766)

Richmond, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k20%21,063
$25k–50k20%20,402
$50k–75k17%17,731

Homes

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

Owners and renters

104,321 households (±766)

Richmond, Virginia
Virginia share

Own44%45,407
Rent56%58,914

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

121,803 workers (±1,542)

Richmond, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone63%76,720
Carpool7.9%9,565
Public transit2.9%3,522

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 Richmond city, the county holding most of Richmond's residents.

Richmond city has 6,530 employer establishments, 283 for every 10,000 residents (1.14× the US rate of 248; 1.17× Virginia's), with 129,898 paid employees at an average annual pay of $77,795. The Census Bureau also counts 21,151 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,530; 21,151 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 283; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 129,898
Average annual pay: $77,795; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	582	25.2	1.37×More than typical	9,923	$24,927	103
Ambulatory health care services	390	16.9	0.81×About typical	6,838	$108,938	985
Lessors of real estate	357	15.5	1.26×More than typical	2,731	$91,272	2,372
Full-service restaurants	325	14.1	1.83×More than typical	6,175	$27,745	41
Specialty trade contractors	248	10.7	0.69×Fewer than typical	4,094	$72,273	1,051
Legal services	241	10.4	1.94×More than typical	3,140	$154,894	246
Management, scientific and technical consulting	235	10.2	1.52×More than typical	1,454	$115,506	1,024
Limited-service restaurants	202	8.8	1.09×About typical	3,054	$20,463	47
Religious organizations	192	8.3	1.50×More than typical	2,742	$46,230	—
Personal care services	167	7.2	1.52×More than typical	829	$38,146	1,228
Construction of buildings	163	7.1	0.93×About typical	1,492	$88,495	493
Grocery and convenience stores	159	6.9	2.32×More than typical	2,368	$27,955	50

Rank places for an industry Open Richmond city

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 230,804 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 $295.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Richmond, Virginia: $1,290 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $295.8M; +46% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,290; US $1,994
Sole-source: 64%; US 30%
Single offer: 24%; 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

Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response$109.1M37%
Department of Veterans Affairs$54.8M19%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$50.8M17%
Health Resources and Services Administration$42.9M14%
Department of Housing and Urban Development$12.6M4.3%
Public Buildings Service$6.2M2.1%
Federal Acquisition Service$2.2M0.8%
National Institutes of Health$2.2M0.7%

Top recipients

PHLOW CORP.$105.3M36%
VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY$53.9M18%
UNITED NETWORK FOR ORGAN SHARING$42.9M15%
GROUP III MANAGEMENT INC$17.5M5.9%
HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP$12.1M4.1%

Spending by fiscal year

208.9MFY2017
186.1MFY2018
190.1MFY2019
638.2MFY2020
227.1MFY2021
227.9MFY2022
245.6MFY2023
221.3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$105.3M36%
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$53.9M18%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$31.5M11%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$21.4M7.2%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$13.2M4.5%
Legal services · 5411

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Richmond, Virginia

US BASED ADVANCED API MANUFACTURING. BASE PERIOD FUNDING FOR US BASED ADVANCED MANUFACTURING OF COVID-19 ESSENTIAL MEDICINES AND FUTURE THREATS.$696.7M
PHLOW CORP.· Richmond city, VA· Research & development· May 18, 2020 – Sep 29, 2026· 75A50120C00092
UTILITY ENERGY SERVICE CONTRACT (UESC) FOR FBI QUANTICO$100.3M
VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY· Richmond city, VA· Facilities & utilities· Sep 30, 2025 – Sep 23, 2026· 15F06725F0001827
TO FOR FSC SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT$98.7M
FAVOR TECHCONSULTING, LLC· Richmond city, VA· IT & telecom· Dec 20, 2019 – Jan 15, 2026· 36C10B20N10060036
DESIGN-BID-BUILD CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR A 281,075 SQUARE FOOT DLA AVIATION OPERATIONS CENTER DSCR IN RICHMOND VA

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

Richmond, Virginia's figures are part of those of Richmond city, VA ($295.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 100.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Richmond 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.

Richmond, 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.

Richmond city60100% 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/5167000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends