County profile

Suffolk city

Virginia · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
98,796
Median household income
$92,666
People below poverty
9.4%
Median home value
$347,400

Income

The median income of households in Suffolk city, Virginia was $92,666. An estimated 4.1% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 12.9% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4.1
$10,000 to $14,999 2.2
$15,000 to $24,999 4.8
$25,000 to $34,999 6.3
$35,000 to $49,999 8
$50,000 to $74,999 16
$75,000 to $99,999 12.6
$100,000 to $149,999 21.4
$150,000 to $199,999 11.8
$200,000 or more 12.9

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 71460
Female 55569

An estimated 79% of households received earnings. An estimated 30% of households received Social Security and an estimated 32.3 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $22,881. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 79
Social Security 30
Retirement income 32.3
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 4.3
Cash public assistance income 2

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 9.4 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 12.7% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 9.7% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 8% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 9.4
Children under 18 years below poverty 12.7
People 65 years old and over below poverty 9.7
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 8

In 2020-2024, 10 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 51.7% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 45.5% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 40.7% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024, 93.6% had health insurance coverage and 6.4% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 73.7% and public coverage was 36.2%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 4.9%.


In 2020-2024, Suffolk city, Virginia had a total population of 98,796 - 50,759 (51.4%) females and 48,037 (48.6%) males. The median age was 38.7 years. An estimated 23.6% of the population was under 18 years, 33.1% was 19 to 44 years, 25.8% was 45 to 64 years, and 15.3 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 3075 3143
5 to 9 3163 2843
10 to 14 3553 3493
15 to 19 3086 3073
20 to 24 2897 2772
25 to 29 3057 3002
30 to 34 3480 3735
35 to 39 3435 3514
40 to 44 3389 3539
45 to 49 2783 2984
50 to 54 3004 3372
55 to 59 2941 3490
60 to 64 3483 3390
65 to 69 2356 2575
70 to 74 1958 2206
75 to 79 1232 1690
80 to 84 759 1032
85 and over 386 906

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 46.5% were White; 42% were Black or African American; 9.1% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 1.9% were Asian; 20.1% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 6.5% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 5.2% of the people in Suffolk city, Virginia were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 45.8% of the people in Suffolk city, Virginia were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 37,908 households in Suffolk city, Virginia. The average household size was 2.58 people.

Married-couple households made up 49% of the households in Suffolk city, Virginia while cohabiting couple households made up 6% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 29.2% of all households, while 15.8% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 11.5% of households were male householders living alone, and 15.4% were female householders living alone, for a total of 26.9% of all households.

In Suffolk city, Virginia, 32.9% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 29.6% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 49
Cohabiting Couples 6
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
15.8
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
29.2

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 52.7% of males and 47% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 34.5 30.9
Now married, except separated 52.7 47
Separated 2.1 3.1
Widowed 2.4 7.8
Divorced 8.3 11.2

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Suffolk city, Virginia, 2,342 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 31.9% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 95.6% of the people living in Suffolk city, Virginia were U.S. natives. 58.7% of the Suffolk city, Virginia population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 4.4% of Suffolk city, Virginia residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 58.8% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 65.5 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Suffolk city, Virginia come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Suffolk city, Virginia.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 43.5
Asia 32.3
Europe 9.6
Africa 11.9
Northern America 2.7
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024, 6.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 3.1% of people at least five years old; 2.3% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 3.1
Other Indo-European languages 1.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 1.2
Other languages 0.7

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 88.2 % of the people at least one year old living in Suffolk city, Virginia were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 88.2
Different house, same county 2.9
Different county, same state 6
Different state 2.7
Abroad 0.3

Education

In 2020-2024, 91.2 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 33.3% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 8.8% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Suffolk city, Virginia was 23,941 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 1,513 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 16,481. College or graduate school enrollment was 5,947.

Educational Attainment of People in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 8.8
High school diploma or equivalency 25.2
Some college, no degree 23.3
Associate's degree 9.4
Bachelor's degree 20.3
Graduate or professional degree 13.1

Disability

In Suffolk city, Virginia, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 13.3 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5.7% of people under 18 years old, to 10.8% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 34.9% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Suffolk city, Virginia, 58.1 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 34.7% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 71.4% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 23.8% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.5 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 32,493 71.4
Federal, state, or local government workers 10,828 23.8
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 2,066 4.5

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Suffolk city, Virginia worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.6
Construction 6
Manufacturing 12.1
Wholesale trade 1.6
Retail trade 9.5
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 7
Information 1
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.9
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 12.7
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 24.2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 6.5
Other Services, except public administration 4.3
Public administration 8.7

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 20,406 44.8
Service occupations 7,191 15.8
Sales and office occupations 8,548 18.8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 3,418 7.5
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 5,964 13.1

Commuting to Work

An estimated 79% of Suffolk city, Virginia workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.7% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 30.2 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 79
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.7
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.2
Walked 0.9
Other means 1.5
Worked from home 10.7

In 2020-2024, Suffolk city, Virginia had a total of 40,499 housing units. Of these housing units, 79.5% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 18.2% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 2.3% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 79.5
Apartments in multi-unit structures 18.2
Mobile homes 2.3
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

21.4% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 5.2% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Suffolk city, Virginia was 6.5 rooms, and of these housing units 76.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Suffolk city, Virginia had 37,908 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 2,591 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 70.7% while renters occupied 29.3%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.68 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.35.

4.6% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 8.6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5% and another 28.6% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Suffolk city, Virginia:

House Heating Fuel Used in Suffolk city, Virginia in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 41.2
Electricity 54
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 3.1
All other fuels 1.3
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Suffolk city, Virginia was $347,400.

Of the owner-occupied households, 74.9 % had a mortgage. 25.1% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $2,147 and for owners without a mortgage it was $686.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Suffolk city, Virginia was $1,563. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.