ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Norton city, Virginia

FIPS 51720 · Population 3,577
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$41,495
Median Income
$80,734 national
4%
Unemployment
4% national
1,410
Labor Force
13.7%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 3,577 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
$41,495
Per Capita
$26,846
Mean Household
$57,082
Poverty Rate
26.3% approx.
Median Income Comparison
Norton city$41,495
Virginia$93,170
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 21.3% (761 residents) 55-64: 11.3% (403 residents) 35-54: 28.3% (1,014 residents) 18-34: 18.9% (677 residents) Under 18: 20.2% (722 residents) 41 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 20.2%
18-34 · 18.9%
35-54 · 28.3%
55-64 · 11.3%
65+ · 21.3%
Race & Ethnicity
White91.6%
Black or African American2.2%
Asian0.3%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)3.1%
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+
94.2%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.6 pts
13.7%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 22.0 pts
7.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 6.5 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
3,577
Population
1,410
Labor Force
Employed
1,356
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4% ▲ +0.4 pts YoY
Mean Commute 26 min below national avg
0.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
18.5%
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 26.3%, 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 22.0 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Norton city, Virginia, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance
891 38.9%
$59,183
2Retail Trade
642 28.0%
$31,579
3Accommodation and Food Services
427 18.6%
$21,095
4Manufacturing
129 5.6%
$48,168
5Wholesale Trade
84 3.7%
$108,588
6Other Services (except Public Administration)
59 2.6%
$32,767
7Finance and Insurance
36 1.6%
$57,744
8Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
23 1.0%
$43,796
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 891 workers (38.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $59,183.
  • Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $108,588 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $21,095, a 5.1x 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.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Ambulatory Health Care Services
1.95x
358
Furniture, Home Furnishings, and Other Retailers
1.92x
30
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
1.89x
44
Food Services and Drinking Places
1.54x
383

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Accommodation & Food Services Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
383
Cluster Employment
1.54x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Ambulatory Health Care Services
1.95x 358
Furniture, Home Furnishings, and Other Retailers
1.92x 30
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
1.89x 44
Food Services and Drinking Places
1.54x 383

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Ambulatory Health Care Services concentrates at 1.95x the national norm.
  • Cluster depth: 4 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.
Norton city's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$110,000
Median Home Value vs 2019
$692
Rent/Mo
50%
Owner-Occ
9%
Vacancy
2.7x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$692/mo
1 Bedroom
$697/mo
2 Bedroom
$914/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,205/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,429/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,037/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.7x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
  • Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,037/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
2,094
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 26 min below national avg
0.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
18.5%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
56.7%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 49.4% of working-age population (18-64) 49% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
13.7%
HS Diploma+
94.2%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
72,277/yr
Liberty University 25,513/yr
George Mason University 10,335/yr
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 10,020/yr
University of Virginia-Main Campus 9,615/yr
Northern Virginia Community College 9,087/yr
Virginia Commonwealth University 7,707/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.2%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
41.5%
Service
12.4%
Sales & Office
26.6%
Construction / Maint.
12.2%
Production / Transport
7.2%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 1,356 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Low participation: 49.4% 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

Norton city shows emerging potential for ambulatory health care services attraction, with a 1.95x concentration and 358 jobs in this sub-sector.

The interconnected base across ambulatory health care services, furniture, home furnishings, and other retailers, and clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry 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
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 Norton city, Virginia, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Norton city, Virginia?

3,577 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Norton city, Virginia?

$41,495 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Norton city, Virginia?

4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).