Norfolk, VA population, income and ZIP codes

Norfolk city is a mid-size city in Virginia, with 235,037 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #4 of 688 ranked by population — larger than 99% of them. The median age here is 32.4 years against 39.1 nationally, a distinctly younger profile, typical of places with students, military posts or a fast-growing family population. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Norfolk city earn a median of $64,017 a year, 18.5% below the national figure of $78,538 and 23% below the $82,986 median for the 383 Virginia cities we cover. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 17.3% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Norfolk city is valued at $271,900, 10.4% below the national figure and 7% below the $291,300 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,246 a month, 11.4% below the national figure, or roughly $14,952 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 23.4% 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 4.2×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 45.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. 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.