Portsmouth, Virginia demographics

Portsmouth, VA demographics: median age 35.9; 24.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Portsmouth city, Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5164000. The survey estimates a population of 97,190 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Portsmouth is 35.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.3 years. There are 40,288 households (±452). 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 ±0.3	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 97,190
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	22,392 ±721	23.0% MOE unavailable	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	24,894 ±600	25.6% MOE unavailable	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	34,867 ±1,029	35.9% MOE unavailable	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	15,037 ±683	15.5% MOE unavailable	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 97,190
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	46,558 ±148	47.9% MOE unavailable	49.4%	49.5%
Female	50,632 ±148	52.1% 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: 97,190
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	35,186 ±343	36.2% MOE unavailable	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	49,167 ±1,025	50.6% MOE unavailable	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	299 ±179 · low precision	0.3% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,673 ±199	1.7% MOE unavailable	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	46 ±39 · low precision	0.0% MOE unavailable	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	2,088 ±476	2.1% MOE unavailable	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	8,731 ±1,096	9.0% MOE unavailable	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 97,190
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	91,965 MOE unavailable	94.6% MOE unavailable	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	5,225 MOE unavailable	5.4% 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: 40,288
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	13,398 ±823	33.3% ±2.0 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,192 ±446	5.4% ±1.1 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	8,574 ±716	21.3% ±1.8 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	13,351 ±762	33.1% ±1.9 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,773 ±455	6.9% ±1.1 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 40,288
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	12,271 ±787	30.5% ±1.9 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	28,017 ±814	69.5% ±1.9 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 40,288
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	13,351 ±762	33.1% ±1.9 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	13,047 ±797	32.4% ±1.9 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	7,393 ±708	18.4% ±1.7 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,709 ±529	9.2% ±1.3 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,417 ±254	3.5% ±0.6 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	962 ±274	2.4% ±0.7 pp	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	409 ±169	1.0% ±0.4 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: 97,190
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	94,022 ±459	96.7% MOE unavailable	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	3,168 ±459	3.3% MOE unavailable	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 90,407
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	85,658 ±694	94.7% ±0.8 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	2,614 ±419	2.9% ±0.5 pp	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	204 ±124 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	288 ±149 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	31 ±36 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	310 ±131	0.3% ±0.1 pp	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	64 ±46 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	162 ±124 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	36 ±38 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	419 ±228 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	130 ±81 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	170 ±119 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	321 ±199 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 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: 65,901
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	7,229 ±707	11.0% ±1.1 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	20,386 ±1,195	30.9% ±1.8 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	15,946 ±978	24.2% ±1.5 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	6,314 ±711	9.6% ±1.1 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	10,140 ±717	15.4% ±1.1 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	5,886 ±549	8.9% ±0.8 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: 96,413
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	83,231 ±1,376	86.3% ±1.4 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	3,682 ±751	3.8% ±0.8 pp	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	6,101 ±1,037	6.3% ±1.1 pp	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	3,182 ±594	3.3% ±0.6 pp	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	217 ±127 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 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

7.4% of Portsmouth residents (±0.9 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 88.0% 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	Portsmouth	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	7.4% ±0.9 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.0% ±1.5 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	12.8% ±1.0 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 Portsmouth . 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 Portsmouth housing and cost context or return to the city profile.