Roanoke, Virginia demographics

Roanoke, VA demographics: median age 38.3; 30.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Roanoke city, Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5168000. The survey estimates a population of 98,355 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Roanoke is 38.3 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.5 years. There are 43,575 households (±640). 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	38.3 ±0.5	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 98,355
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	22,254 ±831	22.6% MOE unavailable	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	22,073 ±535	22.4% MOE unavailable	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	36,562 ±1,174	37.2% MOE unavailable	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	17,466 ±804	17.8% MOE unavailable	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 98,355
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	46,233 ±286	47.0% MOE unavailable	49.4%	49.5%
Female	52,122 ±286	53.0% 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: 98,355
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	55,840 ±751	56.8% MOE unavailable	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	27,466 ±647	27.9% MOE unavailable	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	136 ±72 · low precision	0.1% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	3,082 ±196	3.1% MOE unavailable	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	95 ±101 · low precision	0.1% MOE unavailable	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	2,884 ±856	2.9% MOE unavailable	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	8,852 ±978	9.0% MOE unavailable	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 98,355
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	89,532 MOE unavailable	91.0% MOE unavailable	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	8,823 MOE unavailable	9.0% 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: 43,575
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	12,938 ±736	29.7% ±1.6 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,173 ±491	5.0% ±1.1 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	7,344 ±700	16.9% ±1.6 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	17,189 ±904	39.4% ±2.0 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	3,931 ±658	9.0% ±1.5 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 43,575
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	10,315 ±653	23.7% ±1.5 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	33,260 ±797	76.3% ±1.4 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 43,575
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	17,189 ±904	39.4% ±2.0 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	15,015 ±1,011	34.5% ±2.3 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	5,590 ±548	12.8% ±1.2 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,533 ±489	8.1% ±1.1 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,555 ±307	3.6% ±0.7 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	381 ±158	0.9% ±0.4 pp	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	312 ±136	0.7% ±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: 98,355
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	90,469 ±817	92.0% MOE unavailable	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	7,886 ±817	8.0% MOE unavailable	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 91,998
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	81,994 ±846	89.1% ±0.9 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	5,945 ±613	6.5% ±0.7 pp	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	446 ±307 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	308 ±217 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	84 ±75 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,557 ±479	1.7% ±0.5 pp	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	45 ±89 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	47 ±48 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	402 ±281 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	118 ±111 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	457 ±265 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	359 ±208 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	236 ±148 · low precision	0.3% ±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: 68,787
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	7,099 ±766	10.3% ±1.1 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	22,254 ±1,357	32.4% ±2.0 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	13,495 ±1,047	19.6% ±1.5 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	5,279 ±633	7.7% ±0.9 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	12,735 ±873	18.5% ±1.3 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	7,925 ±744	11.5% ±1.1 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: 97,314
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	85,973 ±1,543	88.3% ±1.6 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	5,491 ±1,022	5.6% ±1.1 pp	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	3,558 ±643	3.7% ±0.7 pp	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	2,141 ±807	2.2% ±0.8 pp	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	151 ±140 · 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

9.8% of Roanoke residents (±1.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 85.7% 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	Roanoke	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.8% ±1.0 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	85.7% ±1.5 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.3% ±0.8 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 Roanoke . 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 Roanoke housing and cost context or return to the city profile.