Official Federal Data
Emporia city, Virginia
FIPS 51595 · Population 5,547
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$51,899 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
7.9% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
2,341
Labor Force
16% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 5,547 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
$51,899 ▲
Per Capita
$28,969 ▲
Mean Household
$71,067 ▲
Poverty Rate
15.8% ▼approx.
Median Income Comparison
Emporia city$51,899
Virginia$93,170
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 27.6%
18-34 · 21.3%
35-54 · 21%
55-64 · 11.9%
65+ · 18.2%
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+
80.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 9.0 pts
16%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 19.7 pts
6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.1 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
5,547
Population
2,341
Labor Force
Employed
2,272
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
7.9% ▲ +2.0 pts YoY
Mean Commute 26 min below national avg
0.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.9%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Elevated poverty: At 15.8%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 19.7 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 860 workers (48.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $44,001.
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
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
610
Cluster Employment
2.86x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
General Merchandise Retailers
3.93x 253
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.97x 62
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
2.86x 195
Ambulatory Health Care Services
2.31x 415
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
1.87x 76
Food Services and Drinking Places
1.68x 407
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: General Merchandise Retailers concentrates at 3.93x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
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
$148,500 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,037 ▲
Rent/Mo
38.1% ▼
Owner-Occ
20.9% ▲
Vacancy
2.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$764/mo
1 Bedroom
$769/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,001/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,392/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,679/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,297/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Renter-majority market: 38.1% owner-occupied; flexible labor mobility but consider home-buying pipeline if attracting families.
- Elevated vacancy: 20.9% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,297/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
3,006 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 26 min below national avg
0.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.9%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
79.7%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
16% ▲
HS Diploma+
80.6% ▲
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
22%
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
18.7%
Service
18.5%
Sales & Office
19.6%
Construction / Maint.
9.5%
Production / Transport
33.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 2,272 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Low participation: 58.3% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
- 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
Emporia city shows meaningful potential for general merchandise retailers attraction, with a 3.93x concentration and 253 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across general merchandise retailers, gasoline stations and fuel dealers, and nursing and residential care facilities 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
Illustrative example
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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 Emporia city, Virginia, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Emporia city, Virginia?
5,547 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Emporia city, Virginia?
$51,899 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Emporia city, Virginia?
7.9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
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