Buena Vista, Virginia demographics

Buena Vista, VA demographics: median age 35.9; 23.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Buena Vista city, Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5111032. The survey estimates a population of 6,593 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Buena Vista is 35.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.9 years. There are 2,554 households (±153). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	35.9 ±1.9	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 6,593
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	1,452 ±209	22.0% MOE unavailable	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	1,758 ±291	26.7% MOE unavailable	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	2,143 ±302	32.5% MOE unavailable	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	1,240 ±187	18.8% MOE unavailable	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 6,593
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	3,201 ±158	48.6% MOE unavailable	49.4%	49.5%
Female	3,392 ±158	51.4% MOE unavailable	50.6%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 6,593
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	5,583 ±91	84.7% MOE unavailable	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	134 ±85 · low precision	2.0% MOE unavailable	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	83 ±129 · low precision	1.3% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	68 ±58 · low precision	1.0% MOE unavailable	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	23 ±37 · low precision	0.3% MOE unavailable	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	32 ±43 · low precision	0.5% MOE unavailable	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	670 ±191	10.2% MOE unavailable	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 6,593
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	6,578 ±22	99.8% MOE unavailable	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	15 ±22 · low precision	0.2% MOE unavailable	11.0%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,554
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	1,046 ±198	41.0% ±7.4 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	195 ±102 · low precision	7.6% ±4.0 pp · low precision	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	472 ±143	18.5% ±5.5 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	808 ±150	31.6% ±5.6 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	33 ±30 · low precision	1.3% ±1.2 pp · low precision	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,554
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	667 ±118	26.1% ±4.3 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	1,887 ±180	73.9% ±5.5 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,554
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	808 ±150	31.6% ±5.6 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	983 ±183	38.5% ±6.8 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	381 ±120	14.9% ±4.6 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	226 ±94	8.8% ±3.6 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	101 ±68 · low precision	4.0% ±2.6 pp · low precision	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	7 ±24 · low precision	0.3% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	48 ±51 · low precision	1.9% ±2.0 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 6,593
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	6,536 ±53	99.1% MOE unavailable	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	57 ±53 · low precision	0.9% MOE unavailable	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 6,271
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	6,205 ±58	98.9% ±0.9 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	15 ±28 · low precision	0.2% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	30 ±39 · low precision	0.5% ±0.6 pp · low precision	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	21 ±37 · low precision	0.3% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 4,073
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	493 ±182	12.1% ±4.5 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,498 ±217	36.8% ±5.2 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	808 ±189	19.8% ±4.6 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	325 ±141	8.0% ±3.5 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	559 ±162	13.7% ±4.0 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	390 ±145	9.6% ±3.5 pp	18.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 6,555
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	5,228 ±347	79.8% ±5.3 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	277 ±161 · low precision	4.2% ±2.5 pp · low precision	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	598 ±261	9.1% ±4.0 pp	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	416 ±154	6.3% ±2.3 pp	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	36 ±45 · low precision	0.5% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.3% of Buena Vista residents (±2.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 86.6% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Buena Vista	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.3% ±2.1 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.6% ±5.8 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.0% ±2.1 pp	9.4%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Buena Vista . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Buena Vista housing and cost context or return to the city profile.