Town · Sussex County, Virginia

Wakefield (town), Virginia

Wakefield is a town in Sussex County, Virginia, part of the Richmond, VA metro area. It has 1,201 residents. Wakefield (town), Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,950 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #336 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on math scores (high), effective property tax rate (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on traffic deaths (high), pharmacies (low) and mental health providers (low).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,950 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #336 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,201 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 964.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 5182384

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.

Safety17#12,990/15,637
Economy50#7,789/15,631
Housing70#4,530/14,977
Health19#12,586/15,609
Healthcare2#15,353/15,650
Environment87#2,069/15,453
Education91#1,436/15,649
Infrastructure23#12,118/15,650
Community17#12,941/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#15,012/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Math scores · high3.46
95/100Virginia 3.27United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSussex County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.43%
92/100Virginia 0.78%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100Virginia 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSussex County value
Students per teacher · low11.6×
88/100Virginia 13.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSussex County value
Unemployment rate · low1.7%
86/100Virginia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Virginia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSussex County value

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high66.9 /100k
1/100Virginia 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataSussex County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSussex County value
Mental health providers · low28 /100k
2/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSussex County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low27.2%
2/100Virginia 83.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSussex County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.9 /10k
2/100Virginia 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSussex County value
Dentists · low19 /100k
4/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSussex County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.9% (2015-2019) → 87.5% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
19.4% (2015-2019) → 1.7% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
12.9% (2015-2019) → 28.5% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$35,556 (2015-2019) → $62,386 (2020-2024)
+75%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
79.1% (2015-2019) → 92.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
13.3% (2015-2019) → 1.7% (2020-2024)
−12 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, Wakefield (town), Virginia improved on 3 of 11 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++16 points12.9% → 28.5%
Household income+75%$35,556 → $62,386
Broadband+24 points63.9% → 87.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Wakefield (town), Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.9%2015-2019	28.5%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	97%
Broadband subscriptions	63.9%2015-2019	87.5%2020-2024	+24 points	Improved	94%
Effective property tax rate	0.51%2015-2019	0.43%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	79.1%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	75%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4392015-2019	0.4122020-2024	−0.027	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$35,5562015-2019	$62,3862020-2024	+75%	Improved	96%
Poverty rate	16.8%2015-2019	7.8%2020-2024	−9 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	46.8%2015-2019	47.7%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.8%2015-2019	23.6%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Within the margin of error	5%

“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 Wakefield (town), Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wakefield (town), 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, Wakefield (town), Virginia itself moved +19.4 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,201 residents (±412)

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

424 households (±100)

Wakefield (town), Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k11%†47
$25k–50k28%†117
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

424 households (±100)

Wakefield (town), Virginia
Virginia share

Own70%296
Rent30%†128

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

584 workers (±290)

Wakefield (town), Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone86%†501
Carpool8.0%†47
Public transit

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 Sussex County, the county holding most of Wakefield's residents.

Sussex County has 184 employer establishments, 170 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.71× Virginia's), with 1,975 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,636. The Census Bureau also counts 523 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 184; 523 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 170; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 1,975
Average annual pay: $44,636; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	16	14.8	0.81×About typical	273	$22,440	3
Religious organizations	13	12	2.17×More than typical	38	$20,842	—
Gasoline stations	11	10.2	3.14×More than typical	95	$27,021	—
Limited-service restaurants	10	9.3	1.15×About typical	193	$21,487	—
Specialty trade contractors	10	9.3	0.60×Fewer than typical	34	$33,176	41
General merchandise stores	8	7.4	4.19×Too few to compare	49	$30,449	8
Lessors of real estate	8	7.4	0.60×Too few to compare	9	$74,667	66
Truck transportation	8	7.4	1.46×Too few to compare	46	$58,413	17
Grocery and convenience stores	7	6.5	2.18×Too few to compare	76	$26,842	—
Ambulatory health care services	6	5.6	0.27×Too few to compare	84	$57,643	12
Full-service restaurants	6	5.6	0.72×Too few to compare	80	$24,738	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	5	4.6	0.92×Too few to compare	21	$50,286	11

Rank places for an industry Open Sussex County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,801 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 $1,895 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wakefield (town), Virginia: $1.58 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,895; −1.1% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.58; US $1,994
Sole-source: 18%; 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

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$1,895100%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

21.2KFY2017
25.4KFY2018
9.4KFY2019
4.9KFY2020
1.6KFY2021
1.7KFY2022
2.2KFY2023
1.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

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 Wakefield (town), Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Wakefield (town), Virginia's figures are part of those of Sussex County, VA ($148.9K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Sussex 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.

Wakefield (town), 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.

Sussex County27100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Richmond, VA78

Other cities and towns in Sussex County

Largest first.

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/5182384

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends