Chesapeake, Virginia demographics

Chesapeake, VA demographics: median age 37.9; 36.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Chesapeake city, Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5116000. The survey estimates a population of 252,583 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Chesapeake is 37.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.2 years. There are 93,626 households (±629). 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	37.9 ±0.2	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 252,583
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	61,025 ±1,154	24.2% MOE unavailable	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	54,335 ±951	21.5% MOE unavailable	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	100,426 ±1,720	39.8% MOE unavailable	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	36,797 ±1,205	14.6% MOE unavailable	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 252,583
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	123,964 ±69	49.1% MOE unavailable	49.4%	49.5%
Female	128,619 ±69	50.9% 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: 252,583
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	139,259 ±1,327	55.1% MOE unavailable	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	73,386 ±1,089	29.1% MOE unavailable	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	457 ±190	0.2% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	9,781 ±557	3.9% MOE unavailable	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	140 ±105 · low precision	0.1% MOE unavailable	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	6,606 ±1,208	2.6% MOE unavailable	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	22,954 ±1,714	9.1% MOE unavailable	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 252,583
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	233,175 MOE unavailable	92.3% MOE unavailable	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	19,408 MOE unavailable	7.7% 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: 93,626
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	49,521 ±1,243	52.9% ±1.3 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	3,580 ±499	3.8% ±0.5 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	13,477 ±797	14.4% ±0.8 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	22,721 ±1,122	24.3% ±1.2 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	4,327 ±527	4.6% ±0.6 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 93,626
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	33,417 ±1,081	35.7% ±1.1 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	60,209 ±1,100	64.3% ±1.1 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 93,626
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	22,721 ±1,122	24.3% ±1.2 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	31,409 ±1,399	33.5% ±1.5 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	15,515 ±904	16.6% ±1.0 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	14,275 ±910	15.2% ±1.0 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	6,158 ±690	6.6% ±0.7 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	2,445 ±456	2.6% ±0.5 pp	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	1,103 ±270	1.2% ±0.3 pp	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: 252,583
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	237,869 ±1,307	94.2% MOE unavailable	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	14,714 ±1,307	5.8% MOE unavailable	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 237,283
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	217,303 ±1,348	91.6% ±0.6 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	9,419 ±877	4.0% ±0.4 pp	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	941 ±613 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	759 ±340	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	482 ±238	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,501 ±425	0.6% ±0.2 pp	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	903 ±399	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	568 ±304 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	706 ±332	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	2,597 ±514	1.1% ±0.2 pp	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,020 ±250	0.4% ±0.1 pp	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	311 ±176 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	773 ±330	0.3% ±0.1 pp	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: 171,369
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	9,990 ±811	5.8% ±0.5 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	42,025 ±1,627	24.5% ±0.9 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	39,119 ±1,937	22.8% ±1.1 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	17,021 ±1,081	9.9% ±0.6 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	38,480 ±1,446	22.5% ±0.8 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	24,734 ±1,204	14.4% ±0.7 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: 250,144
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	218,883 ±2,120	87.5% ±0.8 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	8,569 ±1,242	3.4% ±0.5 pp	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	11,706 ±1,141	4.7% ±0.5 pp	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	9,877 ±1,509	3.9% ±0.6 pp	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	1,109 ±354	0.4% ±0.1 pp	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

5.8% of Chesapeake residents (±0.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 92.6% 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	Chesapeake	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.8% ±0.5 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	92.6% ±1.0 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	15.6% ±0.8 pp	9.4%	6.2%	Higher

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 Chesapeake . 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 Chesapeake housing and cost context or return to the city profile.