What is the population of Emporia city?

Emporia city has 5,633 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #191 of 688 in Virginia.

What is the median household income in Emporia city?

Median household income in Emporia city is $49,375 a year, 37.1% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Emporia city?

Median gross rent is $1,060 a month and the median home value is $131,100, so rent absorbs about 25.8% of median household income.

Is Emporia city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 2.7× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Emporia city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 25.8% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

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Virginia · Census place 25808

Emporia, VA population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Emporia, Virginia (Emporia, VA — Census place “Emporia city”) is 5,633 residents, ranking #191 of 688 places in Virginia. Median household income is $49,375, the median home is worth $131,100 and median gross rent runs $1,060 a month. Looking for the Emporia Virginia ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Emporia, VA: 23847.

Population: 5,633Emporia city residents
Median household income: $49,375Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $131,100Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $1,060Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 39.5 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 38.4%Owner-occupied households

Emporia ZIP codes (Virginia)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Emporia.

The Emporia VA ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

23847

What the numbers mean in Emporia city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Emporia city median would spend about 25.8% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.7× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 13.5% of residents and 38.4% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Emporia city, VA in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Emporia city is a mid-size town in Virginia, with 5,633 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #191 of 688 ranked by population — larger than 72% of them. The median age here is 39.5 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Emporia city earn a median of $49,375 a year, 37.1% below the national figure of $78,538 and 41% below the $82,986 median for the 383 Virginia cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 13.5% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Emporia city is valued at $131,100, 56.8% below the national figure and 55% below the $291,300 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,060 a month, 24.6% below the national figure, or roughly $12,720 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 25.8% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.7×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 38.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, a renter-majority market, so rent figures matter more here than the home-value line. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Virginia.

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Emporia city?: Emporia city has 5,633 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #191 of 688 in Virginia.
What is the median household income in Emporia city?: Median household income in Emporia city is $49,375 a year, 37.1% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Emporia city?: Median gross rent is $1,060 a month and the median home value is $131,100, so rent absorbs about 25.8% of median household income.
Is Emporia city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 2.7× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Emporia city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 25.8% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Emporia city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.