Chesapeake, Virginia Housing Market Prices

Chesapeake Home Prices and Rent at a Glance

The median home price (often called the average home price), rent costs, affordability metrics, and housing stock characteristics for this housing market.

  • Median home price 52% above the Virginia median
    $388,636
  • Median rent About the same as the Virginia median
    $1,586

Housing Market Overview

Metric Chesapeake Virginia Avg US Average
Median Home Price $388,636 $256,082 $248,835
Price Trend (Annual %) 10.1% 3.5% 7.5%
Median Gross Rent $1,586 $1,579 $1,407
Rent Trend (Annual %) 3.8% 4.2% 5.1%
Household Income Trend (Annual %) — — —

The median home price in Chesapeake is about 52% higher than in Virginia. Rent follows a similar pattern, running close to the Virginia average.

Median Home and Rent Price Trends

Median Home Prices, 2015-2024

Chesapeake
Virginia
United States
Year Chesapeake Virginia United States

Median Rent Prices, 2015-2024

Chesapeake
Virginia
United States
Year Chesapeake Virginia United States

Both home prices and rent are rising in Chesapeake, up about 10.1% and 3.8% a year respectively. Home prices are changing faster.

Median rent in Chesapeake rose about 35.0% between 2015 and 2024, from $1,175 to $1,586. Over the same span, rent in Virginia rose about 41.5%.

Affordability

On average, housing unit costs 4.1 yearly household incomes in Chesapeake.

Buying the median-priced home in Chesapeake costs roughly 20.4 years of rent at the median monthly rate. That is a relatively high price-to-rent ratio, which tends to favor renting over buying in Chesapeake. The price-to-rent ratio in Virginia is about 13.5.

Metric Chesapeake Virginia Avg US Average
Median Home Price $388,636 $256,082 $248,835
Median Household Income $95,849 $93,527 $80,455
Price-to-Income Ratio 4.1 2.7 3.1

Home Prices vs Income Over Time

Home Prices
Household Income

Between 2015 and 2024, the median home price in Chesapeake rose about 100.6%, while median household income rose about 34.7% between 2009 and 2025 — the home price grew faster than income.

Income Growth vs Housing Cost Growth (Year-over-Year %)

Compare income and housing cost trends.

Household Income Growth %
Housing Cost Growth %
Year Income Growth % Housing Cost Growth % Gap (Cost - Income)

Occupancy & Tenure

Metric Chesapeake Virginia Avg US Average
Homeownership Rate 71.9% 61.5% 58.5%
Rental Rate 24.8% 29.8% 31.2%
Vacancy Rate 3.3% 8.7% 10.2%
Median Tenure (years) 13.0 15.0 15.0
Median Year Moved In 2013 2011 2011

Chesapeake has a homeownership rate of 71.9%, higher than the Virginia average of 61.5%. Its housing vacancy rate is 3.3%, compared with 8.7% in Virginia.

Housing Stock

Metric Chesapeake Virginia Avg US Average
Average Household Size 2.65 people 2.52 people 2.53 people
Median Structure Built Year 1989 1982 1978
Median Number of Rooms 6.6 6.0 5.5

The typical housing unit in Chesapeake was built around 1989. On average, 2.7 people live in a home with about 6.6 rooms, staying for about 13.0 years on average.

Chesapeake, VA Housing Compared With Nearby Cities

Chesapeake, VA is typical in size for this group, 252,549 residents against a local median of 233,287, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Chesapeake, VA's median home price, at $388,636, runs 51% above the $257,238 typical of the cities around it.

Homeownership tells the same story from another angle: 74.4% against a local median of 57.9%, 28% above it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is homeownership, and at 28% above the local median it puts Chesapeake, VA at the better end of the local range. The cities themselves sit within $62,541 of each other on median home price, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Chesapeake, VA, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Chesapeake, VA has the highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.

Area Population Median home price Median rent Homeownership
Chesapeake, VA 252,549 $388,636 #1/4 $1,586 #2/4 74.4% #1/4
Portsmouth, VA 97,157 $246,079 $1,299 57.9%
Norfolk, VA 233,287 $257,238 $1,321 46.3%
Virginia Beach, VA 456,072 $308,620 $1,713 65.2%

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the housing market in Chesapeake, Virginia.

What is the median home price in Chesapeake, Virginia?

The median home price in Chesapeake, Virginia is $388,636, higher than the Virginia average of $256,082.

What is the average home price in Chesapeake, Virginia?

The typical home price in Chesapeake, Virginia, reported as the median sale price, is $388,636. The median is used instead of a mathematical average because it is not skewed by a small number of very expensive or very cheap homes, so it better reflects what a typical buyer pays.

What is the median rent in Chesapeake, Virginia?

The median gross rent in Chesapeake, Virginia is $1,586 per month, about the same as the Virginia average.

What was the median gross rent in Chesapeake in 2020?

In 2020, the median gross rent in Chesapeake, Virginia was $1,299 per month.

What is the price-to-rent ratio in Chesapeake, Virginia?

The price-to-rent ratio in Chesapeake, Virginia is about 20.4, meaning it would take roughly 20.4 years of rent payments at the median rent to equal the median home price. That is a relatively high price-to-rent ratio, which tends to favor renting over buying in Chesapeake.

Are home prices or rent rising faster in Chesapeake, Virginia?

Both home prices and rent are rising in Chesapeake, up about 10.1% and 3.8% a year respectively. Home prices are changing faster.

What is the homeownership rate in Chesapeake, Virginia?

71.9% of households in Chesapeake, Virginia own their home, higher than the Virginia average of 61.5%.

What is the vacancy rate in Chesapeake, Virginia?

The housing vacancy rate in Chesapeake, Virginia is 3.3%, lower than the Virginia average of 8.7%.

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