South Boston, Virginia demographics

South Boston, VA demographics: median age 44.2; 21.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · South Boston town, Virginia · Incorporated town · GEOID 5173712. The survey estimates a population of 7,853 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in South Boston is 44.2 years, with a 90% margin of error of 2.6 years. There are 2,974 households (±227). 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	44.2 ±2.6	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 7,853
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	1,998 ±344	25.4% ±4.4 pp	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	1,451 ±278	18.5% ±3.5 pp	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	2,432 ±322	31.0% ±4.1 pp	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	1,972 ±304	25.1% ±3.9 pp	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 7,853
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	3,455 ±280	44.0% ±3.6 pp	49.4%	49.5%
Female	4,398 ±279	56.0% ±3.5 pp	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: 7,853
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	3,349 ±382	42.6% ±4.9 pp	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	4,006 ±361	51.0% ±4.6 pp	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	149 ±81 · low precision	1.9% ±1.0 pp · low precision	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	123 ±144 · low precision	1.6% ±1.8 pp · low precision	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	226 ±129 · low precision	2.9% ±1.6 pp · low precision	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 7,853
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	7,469 ±156	95.1% ±2.0 pp	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	384 ±158	4.9% ±2.0 pp	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: 2,974
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	962 ±181	32.3% ±5.6 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	15 ±22 · low precision	0.5% ±0.7 pp · low precision	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	673 ±160	22.6% ±5.1 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	1,255 ±250	42.2% ±7.8 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	69 ±49 · low precision	2.3% ±1.6 pp · low precision	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,974
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	830 ±140	27.9% ±4.2 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	2,144 ±242	72.1% ±6.0 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,974
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	1,255 ±250	42.2% ±7.8 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	819 ±166	27.5% ±5.2 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	418 ±172	14.1% ±5.7 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	357 ±117	12.0% ±3.8 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	88 ±68 · low precision	3.0% ±2.3 pp · low precision	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	0 ±27 · low precision	0.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	37 ±42 · low precision	1.2% ±1.4 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: 7,853
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	7,581 ±119	96.5% ±1.5 pp	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	272 ±120	3.5% ±1.5 pp	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 7,174
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	6,812 ±229	95.0% ±2.3 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	245 ±146 · low precision	3.4% ±2.0 pp · low precision	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	85 ±65 · low precision	1.2% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	12 ±28 · low precision	0.2% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	16 ±28 · low precision	0.2% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	4 ±9 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±19 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 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: 5,375
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	712 ±177	13.2% ±3.2 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,821 ±296	33.9% ±5.3 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	1,135 ±253	21.1% ±4.6 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	567 ±146	10.5% ±2.7 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	698 ±156	13.0% ±2.8 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	442 ±126	8.2% ±2.3 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: 7,745
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	7,112 ±199	91.8% ±2.4 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	199 ±101 · low precision	2.6% ±1.3 pp · low precision	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	110 ±73 · low precision	1.4% ±0.9 pp · low precision	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	196 ±168 · low precision	2.5% ±2.2 pp · low precision	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	128 ±88 · low precision	1.7% ±1.1 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

4.1% of South Boston residents (±2.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 73.5% 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	South Boston	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.1% ±2.1 pp · low precision	6.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	73.5% ±6.6 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.4% ±1.7 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 South Boston . 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 South Boston housing and cost context or return to the city profile.