Official Federal Data
Colonial Heights city, Virginia
FIPS 51570 · Richmond, VA · Population 18,352
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$76,505 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.4% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
9,214
Labor Force
28% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 18,352 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$76,505 ▲
Per Capita
$37,650 ▲
Mean Household
$93,310 ▲
Poverty Rate
7.9% ▼approx.
Median Income Comparison
Colonial Heights city$76,505
Virginia$93,170
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 24.6%
18-34 · 20.9%
35-54 · 24.1%
55-64 · 12.1%
65+ · 18.3%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
90.8%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +1.2 pts
28%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 7.7 pts
10.2%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 3.9 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
18,352
Population
9,214
Labor Force
Employed
8,802
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.4% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.2%
Key Takeaways
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 7.7 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 2,645 workers (42.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $30,589.
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $79,151 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $19,148, a 4.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Retail Trade Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
2,114
Cluster Employment
5.74x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
5.74x 408
General Merchandise Retailers
4.48x 900
Furniture, Home Furnishings, and Other Retailers
3.80x 182
Rental and Leasing Services
2.96x 105
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
2.72x 251
Building Material and Garden Supply Retailers
2.52x 215
Food Services and Drinking Places
2.47x 1,874
Personal and Laundry Services
2.46x 242
Health and Personal Care Retailers
2.40x 158
Ambulatory Health Care Services
2.21x 1,240
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.33x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
53 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers concentrates at 5.74x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 3 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$246,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,234 ▲
Rent/Mo
68.1% ▲
Owner-Occ
7.2% ▼
Vacancy
3.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,442/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,507/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,655/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,072/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,553/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,913/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.2x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,913/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
10,480 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
82.8%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
28% ▲
HS Diploma+
90.8% ▼
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
72,277/yr
25,513/yr
10,335/yr
10,020/yr
9,615/yr
9,087/yr
7,707/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.1%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
38.2%
Service
14.5%
Sales & Office
22.9%
Construction / Maint.
10.5%
Production / Transport
13.9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 8,802 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 45,868 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Colonial Heights city shows strong potential for clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry retailers attraction, with a 5.74x concentration and 408 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry retailers, general merchandise retailers, and furniture, home furnishings, and other retailers creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Colonial Heights city, Virginia, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Colonial Heights city, Virginia?
18,352 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Colonial Heights city, Virginia?
$76,505 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Colonial Heights city, Virginia?
3.4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
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