Chesapeake, Virginia Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Chesapeake, VA Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around average
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B
Income Around average
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B
Education Around average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | Chesapeake | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 252,549 | 8,702,460 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 719.6 | 203.3 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 1.00% | 0.57% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 35.6 | 37.4 | 37.3 |
| Households | 93,613 | 3,364,625 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Chesapeake grew by 14.9% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 252,549 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Chesapeake is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 23.3% of residents. That is 0.9 points above Virginia as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 53,255 21.1% -0.3 pts
- Millennials 29–44 58,798 23.3% +0.9 pts
- Gen X 45–60 51,798 20.5% on par
- Boomers 61–79 36,791 14.6% -2.0 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Virginia, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.0% of the people living in Chesapeake and men 49.0%.
- Women 51.0% Virginia 50.6%
- Men 49.0% Virginia 49.4%
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100% of everyone living in Chesapeake
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Economy
Chesapeake has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Chesapeake | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $95,849 | $93,527 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.97% | 4.33% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.6% | 4.1% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Chesapeake is about 2% higher than in Virginia.
Housing
| Metric | Chesapeake | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $388,636 | $256,082 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,586 | $1,579 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 74.4% | 67.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Chesapeake is about 20.4 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,586 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Chesapeake spend about 47 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 196 hours, about 8.2 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Chesapeake | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 23.6 | 23.2 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 47.1 | 46.3 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 196 | 193 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $6,086 | $5,986 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 13.1% | 18.3% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 13,924 | 10,059 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 3,171 | 1,531 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Chesapeake is 24 minutes, longer than the 23 minutes in Virginia.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Chesapeake has a education index of B, which means it is quite educated.
| Metric | Chesapeake | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 33.1% | 37.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.65 | 2.52 | 2.53 |
Health
Chesapeake has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Chesapeake | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 77.2 | 77.3 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 13.9% | 16.9% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 16.7% | 19.0% | 19.0% |
Chesapeake, VA 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.
Median household income tells the same story from another angle: $95,849 against a local median of $66,067, 45% above it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is median household income, and at 45% 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 household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake, VA | 252,549 | $95,849 #1/4 | $388,636 #1/4 | 23.6 min #4/4 |
| Portsmouth, VA | 97,157 | $60,549 | $246,079 | 21.7 min |
| Norfolk, VA | 233,287 | $66,067 | $257,238 | 20.9 min |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 456,072 | $93,171 | $308,620 | 21.8 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Chesapeake, Virginia.
What is the population of Chesapeake, Virginia?
About 252,549 people live in Chesapeake, Virginia, in 93,613 households of 2.7 people on average. The median age is 35.6, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 2 years.
How densely populated is Chesapeake, Virginia?
Averaged over its land area, Chesapeake, Virginia has 720 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 8.3 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Chesapeake, Virginia?
The median home costs 4.1 times the median household income ($388,636 against $95,849), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,586 a month takes about 20% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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