Health Profile of Virginia Beach city, Virginia

Virginia Beach city Health Score

The Map AI Health Index is a score that reflects local life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment to help you quickly compare the overall health and well-being of different areas.

  • B
    Virginia Beach city Around average
    Healthier than 87% of counties in Virginia

Source: Map AI Methodology

Virginia Beach city
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Health grade

General Health Overview

See health data visualized

Metric Virginia Beach city Virginia Avg US Average
Life Expectancy (years) 78.5 77.3 78.3
Uninsured Population (%) 6.3% 6.9% 8.4%
Self-Rated Poor Health 11.9% 16.9% 16.3%

Life expectancy in Virginia Beach city is 78.5 years, about 1.2 years longer than the Virginia average of 77.3 years. The uninsured rate is 6.3%, lower than the Virginia average of 6.9%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 11.9% of residents, lower than the Virginia average of 16.9%.

Population by Age

Older residents

146,731 residents in Virginia Beach city are age 50 or older.

  • 85+ 7,294 2,541 men · 4,753 women
  • 75–84 18,866 7,884 men · 10,982 women
  • 65–74 36,914 16,640 men · 20,275 women
  • 50–64 83,657 40,065 men · 43,593 women

Younger residents

97,300 residents in Virginia Beach city are age 17 or younger.

  • 12–17 29,537 15,318 boys · 14,219 girls
  • 7–12 29,258 15,021 boys · 14,237 girls
  • 3–7 22,367 11,320 boys · 11,047 girls
  • 0–3 16,138 8,199 boys · 7,939 girls
Beyond life expectancy

About 18,260 residents in Virginia Beach city (4.0% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 78.5 years.

78.5 yrs
Age 0 Age 100

The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.

Disease Prevalence

Disease / Condition Virginia Beach city Virginia Avg US Average
Diabetes 9.4% 12.2% 11.3%
Cancer 5.6% 6.8% 6.9%
Heart Diseases 4.6% 6.8% 7.1%
Adult Obesity 32.4% 36.3% 34.3%

The rate of heart disease in Virginia Beach city is about 33% lower than in Virginia. The rate of diabetes in Virginia Beach city is about 23% lower than in Virginia. The rate of cancer in Virginia Beach city is about 17% lower than in Virginia.

Health Behaviors

Behavior Virginia Beach city Virginia Avg US Average
Smokers 14.8% 19.0% 19.0%
Binge Drinking 18.2% 15.2% 16.5%
Sedentary Lifestyle 20.8% 24.8% 25.1%

The rate of smoking in Virginia Beach city is about 22% lower than in Virginia. The rate of binge drinking in Virginia Beach city is about 20% higher than in Virginia. The rate of sedentary lifestyle in Virginia Beach city is about 16% lower than in Virginia.

Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 528,945 cigarettes a day, 15.9 million a month, or 193.1 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 5.8 million minutes a day and 2.1 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Virginia Beach city is 78.5 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.14 lifetimes a day, or 51 lifetimes a year.

* Source: Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D. "Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes." BMJ. 2000;320:53.

Illustrative only. This is not an estimate of how many people actually die from smoking each day or year - it's a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison meant to help grasp the scale of smoking in this area. We take no responsibility for any decisions made based on this figure.

Air Quality

Metric Virginia Beach city Virginia Avg US Average
Air Pollution (μg/m³) 5.95 6.12 6.09

With an annual average of 5.9 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Virginia Beach city is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.

Virginia Beach city, VA Health Compared With Nearby Counties

How Virginia Beach city, VA compares with the 1 counties closest to it.

Area Population Life expectancy Uninsured Obesity
Virginia Beach city, VA 456,072 78.5 yrs #1/2 6.3% #1/2 32.4% #1/2
Currituck County, NC 30,601 76.1 yrs 8.8% 33.3%

Conclusion

Considering all these factors, Virginia Beach city, Virginia has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than Virginia, and somewhat better than the country as a whole.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about health in Virginia Beach city, Virginia.

Is Virginia Beach city, Virginia a healthy place to live?

Virginia Beach city, Virginia has a Map AI Health Index grade of B, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; a B grade means residents are somewhat healthier than the U.S. average.

Is Virginia Beach city, Virginia one of the healthiest counties in Virginia?

Virginia Beach city ranks 18th healthiest out of 133 counties in Virginia by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.

What is the average lifespan in Virginia Beach city, Virginia?

People in Virginia Beach city, Virginia can expect to live 78.5 years on average, 1.2 years longer than the Virginia average of 77.3.

What percentage of Virginia Beach city, Virginia residents are uninsured?

6.3% of residents in Virginia Beach city, Virginia have no health insurance, about 1 in 16 people, 0.6 points below the Virginia rate of 6.9%.

How common is obesity in Virginia Beach city, Virginia?

32.4% of adults in Virginia Beach city, Virginia are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, 3.9 points below the Virginia rate of 36.3%.

How many cigarettes do smokers in Virginia Beach city, Virginia go through, and how much life does that cost?

Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 528,945 cigarettes a day, 15.9 million a month, or 193.1 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 5.8 million minutes a day and 2.1 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Virginia Beach city is 78.5 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.14 lifetimes a day, or 51 lifetimes a year.

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