City · Virginia Beach city, Virginia

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is a city in Virginia Beach city, Virginia, part of the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area. It has 456,349 residents. Virginia Beach, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 89 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,787 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #117 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), math scores (high) and distance to an airport (low). It ranks worst on public libraries (low), rent-burdened households (high) and rent as share of income (high).

89Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,787 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #117 of 375 in VA
Population: 456,349 (2020-2024)
Land area: 245 mi²
Density: 1,864.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 5182000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

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Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety70#4,639/15,637
Economy76#3,702/15,631
Housing23#11,489/14,977
Health70#4,629/15,609
Healthcare77#3,615/15,650
Environment100#47/15,453
Education97#476/15,649
Infrastructure91#1,397/15,650
Community57#6,800/15,651
Leisure & amenities81#3,000/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Natural hazard risk · low1.0
99/100Virginia 17.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyVirginia Beach city value
Math scores · high3.57
98/100Virginia 3.27United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVirginia Beach city value
Distance to an airport · low8 mi
97/100Virginia 32 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauVirginia Beach city value
High school diploma or higher · high94.7%
96/100Virginia 91.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Reading scores · high3.41
95/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVirginia Beach city value
Hospital quality rating · high4.5
94/100Virginia 3.7United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesVirginia Beach city value

Weaknesses

Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
10/100Virginia 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesVirginia Beach city value
Rent-burdened households · high54.5%
17/100Virginia 48.5%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · high32.2%
24/100Virginia 29.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Public EV charging ports · low2.7 /10k
27/100Virginia 6.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyVirginia Beach city value
Property crime rate · high1,454 /100k
30/100Virginia 1,354 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationVirginia Beach city value
Loneliness · high36.3%
32/100Virginia 34.5%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.0 /1k (2021) → 1.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+33%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
48.6% (2015-2019) → 54.6% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
36.0% (2015-2019) → 40.9% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
89.9% (2015-2019) → 94.4% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$76,610 (2015-2019) → $92,968 (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
29.5% (2015-2019) → 32.2% (2020-2024)
+2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Virginia Beach, Virginia improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 4 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

Bachelor's++4.9 points36.0% → 40.9%
Unemployment−0.6 points4.6% → 4.0%
Uninsured−1.3 points8.8% → 7.5%
Household income+21%$76,610 → $92,968
Broadband+4.5 points89.9% → 94.4%

Declined5

Poverty+1.3 points7.3% → 8.6%
Inequality+0.0190.417 → 0.436
Rent / income+2.7 points29.5% → 32.2%
Rent burden+5.9 points48.6% → 54.6%
Price / income+0.4×3.7× → 4.1×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Virginia Beach, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.6 min2015-2019	23.4 min2020-2024	−0.2 min	Within the margin of error	50%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.0%2015-2019	40.9%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Improved	67%
Broadband subscriptions	89.9%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Improved	29%
Child poverty rate	10.2%2015-2019	11.4%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Effective property tax rate	0.83%2015-2019	0.78%2020-2024	−0 points	Little change	25%
High school diploma or higher	93.5%2015-2019	94.7%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4172015-2019	0.4362020-2024	+0.019	Declined	35%
Median household income	$76,6102015-2019	$92,9682020-2024	+21%	Improved	36%
Poverty rate	7.3%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Declined	32%
Public transit commuters	0.8%2015-2019	0.8%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	29.5%2015-2019	32.2%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Declined	35%
Rent-burdened households	48.6%2015-2019	54.6%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Declined	35%
Unemployment rate	4.6%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	62%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.8%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Improved	62%

“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 Virginia Beach, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Virginia Beach, 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, Virginia Beach, Virginia itself moved −4.9 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

456,349 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

179,851 households (±907)

Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k9.7%17,422
$25k–50k13%23,363
$50k–75k18%32,132

Homes

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

Owners and renters

179,851 households (±907)

Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia share

Own65%117,165
Rent35%62,686

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+1.4 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

239,302 workers (±2,274)

Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone74%177,119
Carpool7.4%17,749
Public transit0.8%1,912

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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

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 Virginia Beach city, the county holding most of Virginia Beach's residents.

Virginia Beach city has 11,822 employer establishments, 261 for every 10,000 residents (1.05× the US rate of 248; 1.08× Virginia's), with 165,136 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,528. The Census Bureau also counts 39,081 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 11,822; 39,081 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 261; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 165,136
Average annual pay: $52,528; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	1,154	25.5	1.39×More than typical	22,256	$22,914	191
Ambulatory health care services	1,038	22.9	1.10×About typical	12,818	$69,511	1,772
Lessors of real estate	836	18.4	1.50×More than typical	4,533	$61,711	5,284
Specialty trade contractors	758	16.7	1.08×About typical	5,949	$60,724	1,837
Full-service restaurants	552	12.2	1.59×More than typical	11,355	$27,778	72
Limited-service restaurants	482	10.6	1.33×More than typical	9,037	$16,954	93
Construction of buildings	446	9.8	1.30×More than typical	2,413	$72,787	954
Real estate agents and brokers	409	9	1.85×More than typical	931	$65,447	1,491
Services to buildings and dwellings	404	8.9	1.32×More than typical	3,977	$33,340	1,881
Personal care services	376	8.3	1.74×More than typical	1,705	$31,148	2,279
Offices of other health practitioners	365	8.1	1.32×More than typical	2,176	$50,232	865
Management, scientific and technical consulting	307	6.8	1.01×About typical	2,027	$93,118	1,287

Rank places for an industry Open Virginia Beach city

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 453,402 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 $4.6B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia: $10,090 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4.6B; −34% vs FY2025
Per resident: $10,090; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.2%; US 30%
Single offer: 4.2%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$3.8B81%
Department of the Navy$466.6M10%
Department of the Army$62.1M1.3%
Federal Acquisition Service$54.4M1.2%
U.S. Special Operations Command$36.5M0.8%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$34.6M0.8%
Department of the Air Force$21.5M0.5%
Internal Revenue Service$19.4M0.4%

Top recipients

ATLANTIC DIVING SUPPLY, INC.$3.8B84%
EMERGENT, LLC$94.1M2.0%
S. B. BALLARD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY$69.7M1.5%
QED SYSTEMS, INC.$60.8M1.3%
HII TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS CORPORATION$51.6M1.1%

Spending by fiscal year

2.5BFY2017
3.5BFY2018
4.2BFY2019
4.5BFY2020
4.2BFY2021
4BFY2022
5.6BFY2023
6.2B

Top industries (NAICS)

Machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers · 4238$2.4B51%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$1.1B25%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$177.3M3.9%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$133.5M2.9%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$95.2M2.1%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Virginia Beach, Virginia

NETWORK, PROCESSING&STORAGE EQUIPMENT$488.2M
MANAGEMENT SERVICES GROUP, INC.· Virginia Beach city, VA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Mar 27, 2020 – Jun 2, 2026· N0002420C5608
REPAIR TAXIWAY PAVEMENTS, NAS OCEANA$207.8M
THE LANE CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION· Virginia Beach city, VA· Construction & real property· Jul 18, 2024 – May 12, 2026· N4008524C0021
NASA SEWP DELIVERY ORDER AWARD FOR ORACLE ENTERPRISE LICENSE AGREEMENT 2023$150M
EMERGENT, LLC· Virginia Beach city, VA· IT & telecom· May 5, 2023 – Sep 21, 2026· 36C10B23F0125
SPECIFICATION DEVELOPMENT AVAILABILITY EXECUTION SUPPORT FOR CNO/CMAV AVAILABILITIES FOR LHA, LHD, CG DDG, LCS, LSD, LPS SHIP CLASSES

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

Virginia Beach, Virginia's figures are part of those of Virginia Beach city, VA ($4.6B 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: Virginia Beach is mostly in Virginia Beach city.

See federal money in Virginia Beach 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.

Virginia Beach, 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.

Virginia Beach city95100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC69

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/5182000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends