Hanover County, VA

County Profile

112,879 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hanover County, VA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

74out of 100
Area Score
Top 7% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured67
SchoolsTop 3% of 1,377 counties measured89
Growth987th of 1,453 counties measured40
Housing affordabilityTop 40% of 1,462 counties measured76
ClimateTop 21% of 1,463 counties measured75
Physical resilienceTop 15% of 1,463 counties measured83
AccessTop 25% of 1,463 counties measured90
Economic stabilityTop 5% of 1,463 counties measured93
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $112,805, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 90% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 3% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 348 units authorized over the past twelve months, 42% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
112,879
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$112,805
Top 2% nationally
Density
241/sq mi
467.6 sq mi of land
Median age
42.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Hanover County
Virginia
Metro area
Nearest major airport
RIC
20 mi · Richmond Intl
Median home value
$400,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 84% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.8% over the past year, to 59,934 employed residents.

43% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 94% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $112,805 is higher than in 98% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$88,27788th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$77,06385th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,1442024 ACS 5-Year$112,805Top 2%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0652024 ACS 5-Year$53,490Top 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$77,952Top 10%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.1 minBottom 33%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year42.7%Top 6%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year72.8%24th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202659,934Top 35%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.6%Bottom 20%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 26%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202661,88565th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year83.1%Top 13%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%50th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.3%Bottom 22%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year19.1%95th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.22.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024113k97k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $112,805 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Richmond, VA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers17,100$29,500
Retail Salespersons16,210$33,580
General and Operations Managers15,770$108,670
Registered Nurses15,700$93,580
Cashiers14,460$30,350
Stockers and Order Fillers12,300$37,180

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

90% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 85% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 21 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
23
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.5
across 21 of them
Math proficiency
89.8%
Top 5% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
85.3%
Top 8% in Virginia
The 12 largest of 23 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Atlee HighHanover County Public Schools1,47015.394%90%
Hanover HighHanover County Public Schools1,34914.490%90%
Patrick Henry HighHanover County Public Schools1,29413.582%80%
Mechanicsville HighHanover County Public Schools1,24513.085%87%
Chickahominy MiddleHanover County Public Schools1,19914.693%88%
Liberty MiddleHanover County Public Schools91012.884%79%
Bell Creek MiddleHanover County Public Schools90311.790%83%
Oak Knoll MiddleHanover County Public Schools86212.195%90%
Cool Spring ElementaryHanover County Public Schools85215.294%90%
Kersey Creek ElementaryHanover County Public Schools67214.395%86%
Rural Point ElementaryHanover County Public Schools62714.695%94%
Laurel Meadow ElementaryHanover County Public Schools59113.184%82%

27.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Virginia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Richmond, VA Metro Area is up 48% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,627 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,655, close to the $1,591 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,655 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $66,200 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $112,805.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,591 a month.

A median home at $400,400 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $125,169, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
98.3

Prices here run about 2% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Richmond, VA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,655
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,591
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$400,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Hanover County’s median household income of $112,805, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Richmond, VA Metro Area’s figure202398.3Bottom 32%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Richmond, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Richmond, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+47.7%63rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Richmond, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+100.7%60th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 24%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year82.1%89th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±962024 ACS 5-Year44,58981st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,507Bottom 16%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,072Bottom 22%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,655Bottom 20%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$632024 ACS 5-Year$1,591Bottom 6%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,9972024 ACS 5-Year$400,40091st percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$522024 ACS 5-Year$2,62779th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,0292024 ACS 5-Year$125,169Top 4%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%35th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%Top 49%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±822024 ACS 5-Year11623rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%5th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%8th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3802024 ACS 5-Year1,90152nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

40/ 100
Ranks 987 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 5% since 2020, reaching 115,309 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 511 units authorized in 2025, up 14% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 115,309 residents in 2024, up 1.0% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 348 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Hanover County gained about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $88,277, above the $77,063 of households that moved out.

At 3.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
348
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.1
Top 47% nationally
Year over year
−42%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024115k110k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
22%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$88,277
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$77,063
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Henrico County, VA 1,944 people · 32% of arrivals
  2. Chesterfield County, VA 538 people · 9.0% of arrivals
  3. Richmond city, VA 502 people · 8.4% of arrivals
  4. King William County, VA 126 people · 2.1% of arrivals
  5. Caroline County, VA 117 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Henrico County, VA 1,236 people · 24% of departures
  2. Richmond city, VA 468 people · 9.1% of departures
  3. Chesterfield County, VA 350 people · 6.8% of departures
  4. King William County, VA 239 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Goochland County, VA 137 people · 2.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025818447
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−26%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ASHLAND HANOVER CO MUNI AP, 4.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year392024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
49
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

83 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and drought, with inland flooding alone responsible for 54% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 85% of measured US counties.

DroughtHigh
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, ice storm, heat wave, lightning, tornado, strong wind, hail, landslide, wildfire, winter weather, coastal flooding, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Hanover County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 9.1 per 100,000 residents in Hanover County.

Homicide
2.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
16.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Hanover County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Richmond Intl at 20 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year92.3%Top 12%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle20 miTop 25%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%Top 12%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Richmond IntlRIC20 mi9,003 ft
Newport News/Williamsburg IntlPHF70 mi8,003 ft
Washington Dulles IntlIAD82 mi11,500 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
74
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.