Official Federal Data
Portsmouth city, Virginia
FIPS 51740 · Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC · Population 97,190
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$60,491 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.3% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$7.8B ▲
GDP
24.3% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
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
$60,491 ▲
Per Capita
$33,568 ▲
Mean Household
$77,856 ▲
Poverty Rate
17.3% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Portsmouth city$60,491
Virginia$93,170
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23%
18-34 · 25.6%
35-54 · 23.8%
55-64 · 12.1%
65+ · 15.5%
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+
89%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 0.6 pts
24.3%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 11.4 pts
8.9%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 5.2 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
97,190
Population
49,107
Labor Force
Employed
42,140
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.3% ▲ +0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.7%
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 17.3%, 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 11.4 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 5,637 workers (26% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $57,735.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $7.8B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Transportation and Warehousing averages $96,139 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,522, a 4.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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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
1,467
Cluster Employment
1.55x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Support Activities for Transportation
5.07x 1,146
Water Transportation
2.75x 52
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
2.57x 1,354
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
2.02x 661
Waste Management and Remediation Services
1.59x 227
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.55x 1,467
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.11x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
80 employed
0.22x
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
70 employed
0.22x
Educational Services
197 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Support Activities for Transportation concentrates at 5.07x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 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
$246,900 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,300 ▲
Rent/Mo
57.9% ▲
Owner-Occ
7% ▼
Vacancy
4.1x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,492/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,512/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,713/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,376/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,797/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,512/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.1x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,512/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
59,761 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
72.2%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
24.3% ▲
HS Diploma+
89% ▲
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
19.6%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
34.7%
Service
19.4%
Sales & Office
20.7%
Construction / Maint.
9.9%
Production / Transport
15.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 42,140 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
Portsmouth city shows strong potential for support activities for transportation attraction, with a 5.07x concentration and 1,146 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across support activities for transportation, water transportation, and amusement, gambling, and recreation industries 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 Portsmouth city, Virginia, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Portsmouth city, Virginia?
97,190 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Portsmouth city, Virginia?
$60,491 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Portsmouth city, Virginia?
4.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Portsmouth city, Virginia?
$7.8B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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