Petersburg, Virginia demographics

Petersburg, VA demographics: median age 35.8; 25.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Petersburg city, Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5161832. The survey estimates a population of 33,537 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Petersburg is 35.8 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.5 years. There are 15,138 households (±401). 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	35.8 ±0.5	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	8,002 ±641	23.9% MOE unavailable	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	8,288 ±458	24.7% MOE unavailable	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	11,613 ±616	34.6% MOE unavailable	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	5,634 ±441	16.8% MOE unavailable	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	15,143 ±247	45.2% MOE unavailable	49.4%	49.5%
Female	18,394 ±247	54.8% 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: 33,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	5,094 ±166	15.2% MOE unavailable	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	25,663 ±474	76.5% MOE unavailable	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	22 ±33 · low precision	0.1% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	433 ±51	1.3% MOE unavailable	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	31 ±99 · low precision	0.1% MOE unavailable	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	552 ±288 · low precision	1.6% MOE unavailable	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,742 ±393	5.2% MOE unavailable	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	31,354 MOE unavailable	93.5% MOE unavailable	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	2,183 MOE unavailable	6.5% 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: 15,138
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,763 ±342	18.3% ±2.2 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	525 ±169	3.5% ±1.1 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	3,211 ±440	21.2% ±2.9 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	7,632 ±527	50.4% ±3.2 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,007 ±258	6.7% ±1.7 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,138
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,005 ±380	19.9% ±2.5 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	12,133 ±526	80.1% ±2.8 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,138
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	7,632 ±527	50.4% ±3.2 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	4,310 ±452	28.5% ±2.9 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,528 ±355	10.1% ±2.3 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	965 ±254	6.4% ±1.7 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	452 ±217	3.0% ±1.4 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	104 ±72 · low precision	0.7% ±0.5 pp · low precision	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	147 ±100 · low precision	1.0% ±0.7 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: 33,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	32,014 ±312	95.5% MOE unavailable	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	1,523 ±312	4.5% MOE unavailable	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 30,861
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	28,371 ±384	91.9% ±1.1 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	1,811 ±252	5.9% ±0.8 pp	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	51 ±55 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	177 ±126 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±28 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	122 ±97 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	76 ±63 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	41 ±49 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	30 ±42 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	41 ±50 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	111 ±132 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±28 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	30 ±40 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 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: 22,713
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	3,010 ±427	13.3% ±1.9 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,447 ±697	32.8% ±3.1 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	4,660 ±599	20.5% ±2.6 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,828 ±350	8.0% ±1.5 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,450 ±565	15.2% ±2.5 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,318 ±407	10.2% ±1.8 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: 33,027
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	25,912 ±1,078	78.5% ±3.2 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,674 ±495	5.1% ±1.5 pp	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	3,739 ±732	11.3% ±2.2 pp	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,624 ±626	4.9% ±1.9 pp	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	78 ±58 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 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

6.5% of Petersburg residents (±1.3 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 85.5% 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	Petersburg	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	6.5% ±1.3 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	85.5% ±2.4 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	10.5% ±1.6 pp	9.4%	6.2%	Not statistically different

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