Norfolk, Virginia demographics

Norfolk, VA demographics: median age 32.7; 33.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Norfolk city, Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5157000. The survey estimates a population of 233,596 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Norfolk is 32.7 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.2 years. There are 94,965 households (±721). 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	32.7 ±0.2	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 233,596
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	47,536 ±1,088	20.3% MOE unavailable	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	78,314 ±1,066	33.5% MOE unavailable	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	77,306 ±1,390	33.1% MOE unavailable	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	30,440 ±973	13.0% MOE unavailable	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 233,596
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	118,334 ±83	50.7% MOE unavailable	49.4%	49.5%
Female	115,262 ±83	49.3% 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: 233,596
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	100,966 ±937	43.2% MOE unavailable	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	92,432 ±1,194	39.6% MOE unavailable	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,544 ±479	0.7% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	8,544 ±396	3.7% MOE unavailable	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	225 ±146 · low precision	0.1% MOE unavailable	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	8,939 ±1,005	3.8% MOE unavailable	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	20,946 ±1,598	9.0% MOE unavailable	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 233,596
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	209,905 MOE unavailable	89.9% MOE unavailable	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	23,691 MOE unavailable	10.1% 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: 94,965
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	31,205 ±939	32.9% ±1.0 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	5,265 ±633	5.5% ±0.7 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	16,218 ±854	17.1% ±0.9 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	33,560 ±1,200	35.3% ±1.2 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	8,717 ±759	9.2% ±0.8 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 94,965
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	25,638 ±1,044	27.0% ±1.1 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	69,327 ±1,178	73.0% ±1.1 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 94,965
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	33,560 ±1,200	35.3% ±1.2 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	31,576 ±1,380	33.3% ±1.4 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	13,675 ±976	14.4% ±1.0 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	9,950 ±628	10.5% ±0.7 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	4,062 ±595	4.3% ±0.6 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,155 ±234	1.2% ±0.2 pp	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	987 ±263	1.0% ±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: 233,596
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	215,085 ±1,258	92.1% MOE unavailable	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	18,511 ±1,258	7.9% MOE unavailable	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 218,622
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	192,727 ±1,159	88.2% ±0.5 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	12,973 ±757	5.9% ±0.3 pp	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	1,840 ±490	0.8% ±0.2 pp	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	697 ±171	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	728 ±198	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	2,099 ±410	1.0% ±0.2 pp	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	358 ±168	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	669 ±181	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	330 ±135	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	3,485 ±314	1.6% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,121 ±270	0.5% ±0.1 pp	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	276 ±141 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	1,319 ±358	0.6% ±0.2 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: 151,600
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	14,793 ±1,011	9.8% ±0.7 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	37,424 ±1,504	24.7% ±1.0 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	36,095 ±1,822	23.8% ±1.2 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	12,554 ±1,010	8.3% ±0.7 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	29,375 ±1,398	19.4% ±0.9 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	21,359 ±1,046	14.1% ±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: 230,634
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	185,623 ±2,084	80.5% ±0.9 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	17,113 ±1,601	7.4% ±0.7 pp	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	13,373 ±1,099	5.8% ±0.5 pp	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	12,505 ±1,131	5.4% ±0.5 pp	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	2,020 ±464	0.9% ±0.2 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

9.1% of Norfolk residents (±0.6 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 88.8% 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	Norfolk	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.1% ±0.6 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.8% ±1.0 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	14.2% ±0.7 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 Norfolk . 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 Norfolk housing and cost context or return to the city profile.