county

Norfolk city, VA

Demographic and economic profile of Norfolk city, VA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Norfolk's economy generates a GDP per capita of $90,453 against median worker earnings of $37,126, a gap that reflects the heavy presence of government and military activity anchoring the local base. The city's labor force of roughly 165,000 draws from a population of 235,037 with a median age of 32.7, though unemployment sits at 6.1% and 32.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Population has declined 4.3% over five years, the poverty rate stands at 17.3%, and a homeownership rate of just 46.3% reflects a predominantly renter household base, with median gross rent at $1,246 per month.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

231,105

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$66,109

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

32.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.3% since 2018

Norfolk city lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone100,966 (43.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone92,432 (39.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races12,845 (5.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone8,939 (3.8%)
  • Asian Alone8,544 (3.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race8,101 (3.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish13,054
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)3,486
  3. 3.Other Indo-European2,285
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)1,652
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island886

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

67.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

12.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

7.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

22,955

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$90,453

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$37,433

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance25,679
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services13,145
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)11,374
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services10,821
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)7,626

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations41,194
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations21,541
  3. 3.Service Occupations19,283
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations12,394
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations8,503

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 1.54×)7,475
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.25×)11,299
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.07×)13,603
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.04×)11,685
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.02×)24,625

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$271,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,246/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

46.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9999,630 (21.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9997,765 (17.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9996,830 (15.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9994,496 (10.2%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9993,401 (7.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9992,341 (5.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

32.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

70.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,126

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

11.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone87,873 (70.6%)
  • Worked At Home12,653 (10.2%)
  • Carpooled11,878 (9.5%)
  • Walked6,192 (5.0%)
  • Public Transit3,242 (2.6%)
  • Other1,399 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Norfolk city against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.