Town · Essex County, Virginia

Tappahannock, Virginia

Tappahannock is a town in Essex County, Virginia. It has 1,908 residents. Tappahannock, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,986 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #359 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), job growth (high) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on primary care shortage (high), gyms and fitness centers (low) and premature death (high).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,986 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #359 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,908 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 714.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 5177568

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety26#11,510/15,637
Economy34#10,357/15,631
Housing46#8,075/14,977
Health17#12,966/15,609
Healthcare20#12,550/15,650
Environment74#4,089/15,453
Education40#9,391/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,358/15,650
Community32#10,679/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,363/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Virginia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Job growth · high2.3%
90/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataEssex County value
Public EV charging ports · high13.1 /10k
88/100Virginia 6.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyEssex County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Virginia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Restaurants and bars · high11.3 /10k
83/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEssex County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100Virginia 3.7United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesEssex County value

Weaknesses

Primary care shortage · high19.0
3/100Virginia 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationEssex County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Virginia 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEssex County value
Premature death · high13,968 /100k
6/100Virginia 7,587 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Traffic deaths · high32.0 /100k
6/100Virginia 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataEssex County value
Injury deaths · high136 /100k
7/100Virginia 78 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Life expectancy · low72.2 yrs
8/100Virginia 77.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,068 (2015-2019) → 1,908 (2020-2024)
−7.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
57.7% (2015-2019) → 79.7% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
51.9% (2015-2019) → 39.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Unemployment rateImproving
12.7% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
19.0% (2015-2019) → 7.7% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
25.0% (2015-2019) → 14.9% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Tappahannock, Virginia improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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

Broadband+22 points57.7% → 79.7%
Household income+28%$36,500 → $46,816

Declined1

Bachelor's+−10 points25.0% → 14.9%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Tappahannock, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.6 min2015-2019	32.8 min2020-2024	+2.1 min	Within the margin of error	26%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.0%2015-2019	14.9%2020-2024	−10 points	Declined	2%
Broadband subscriptions	57.7%2015-2019	79.7%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	93%
Child poverty rate	51.9%2015-2019	39.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	86%
High school diploma or higher	84.3%2015-2019	89.0%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	4.9×2015-2019	4.7×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4502015-2019	0.4602020-2024	+0.010	Within the margin of error	42%
Median household income	$36,5002015-2019	$46,8162020-2024	+28%	Improved	51%
Poverty rate	30.8%2015-2019	25.2%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	33.9%2015-2019	30.2%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Rent-burdened households	57.0%2015-2019	50.3%2020-2024	−6.7 points	Within the margin of error	76%

“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 Tappahannock, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tappahannock, 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, Tappahannock, Virginia itself moved +2.4 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,908 residents (±325)

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

987 households (±193)

Tappahannock, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k30%†292
$25k–50k26%†256
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

987 households (±193)

Tappahannock, Virginia
Virginia share

Own31%†306
Rent69%681

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

799 workers (±219)

Tappahannock, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone77%†612
Carpool16%†125
Public transit

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 Essex County, the county holding most of Tappahannock's residents.

Essex County has 309 employer establishments, 292 for every 10,000 residents (1.18× the US rate of 248; 1.21× Virginia's), with 3,180 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,205. The Census Bureau also counts 847 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 309; 847 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 292; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 3,180
Average annual pay: $39,205; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	24	22.7	1.23×About typical	432	$19,370	—
Ambulatory health care services	22	20.8	1.00×About typical	91	$51,714	23
Specialty trade contractors	17	16.1	1.04×About typical	42	$39,857	79
Construction of buildings	14	13.2	1.75×More than typical	44	$43,750	33
Full-service restaurants	14	13.2	1.72×More than typical	213	$19,854	—
Religious organizations	12	11.3	2.04×More than typical	34	$21,529	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	11.3	1.68×More than typical	138	$27,971	83
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	9.4	1.88×More than typical	61	$41,820	15
Limited-service restaurants	9	8.5	1.06×Too few to compare	212	$19,028	—
Gasoline stations	8	7.6	2.33×Too few to compare	78	$24,808	—
Legal services	8	7.6	1.40×Too few to compare	17	$50,000	3
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	7	6.6	3.78×Too few to compare	49	$25,653	—

Rank places for an industry Open Essex County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,590 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 $5,972 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Tappahannock, Virginia: $3.13 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5,972; −38% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3.13; 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 Veterans Affairs$5,972100%

Top recipients

ESSEX REHABILITATION & CARE CENTER, LLC$5,972100%

Spending by fiscal year

4.5KFY2017
1.7KFY2018
8.9KFY2019
17.3KFY2020
25.5KFY2021
7.5KFY2022
9.2KFY2023
103.6KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$5,972100%

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

Tappahannock, Virginia's figures are part of those of Essex County, VA ($1.3M 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: Tappahannock is mostly in Essex County.

See federal money in Essex 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.

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

House

Robert J. WittmanR-VA-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 2.5%

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.

Essex County28100% of residents

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/5177568

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends