Henrico County, VA

County Profile

335,744 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Henrico 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.

67out of 100
Area Score
Top 30% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 42% of 1,255 counties59
Schools711th of 973 counties32
Growth644th of 1,226 counties48
Housing affordability932nd of 1,255 counties82
ClimateTop 22% of 1,254 counties75
Physical resilienceTop 10% of 1,255 counties88
AccessTop 17% of 1,255 counties95
Economic stabilityTop 10% of 1,255 counties90
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $88,783, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published profiles.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Henrico County in the top 10% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 5 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
335,744
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$88,783
Top 10% nationally
Density
1,437/sq mi
233.7 sq mi of land
Median age
39.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Henrico County
Virginia
Metro area
Richmond, VA
Nearest major airport
RIC
5 mi · Richmond Intl
Median home value
$359,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7% is lower than 70% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 2.1% over the past year, to 176,634 employed residents.

47% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 90% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,074$88,783Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,114$51,931Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.8%Bottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute24.0 minBottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher46.5%Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment176,634Top 16%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.5%Bottom 17%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.1%Bottom 17%June 2026
Labor force183,472Top 16%June 2026
Labor force participation68.4%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.4%Top 30%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.7%Bottom 30%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.82.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% in June 2026. 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
202120222023202489k76k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $88,783 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

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.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 57% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
81
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
45.5%
Bottom 34% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
57.2%
Bottom 27% in Virginia
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
John Randolph Tucker HighHenrico County Public Schools2,13218.9
Deep Run HighHenrico County Public Schools1,99219.7
Glen Allen HighHenrico County Public Schools1,93917.8
Highland Springs HighHenrico County Public Schools1,92816.6
Douglas S. Freeman HighHenrico County Public Schools1,88118.1
Hermitage HighHenrico County Public Schools1,71916.7
Mills E. Godwin HighHenrico County Public Schools1,70217.4
Varina HighHenrico County Public Schools1,42013.8
Henrico HighHenrico County Public Schools1,30014.0
Tuckahoe MiddleHenrico County Public Schools1,11417.167%82%
George H. Moody MiddleHenrico County Public Schools1,08616.762%72%
Short Pump MiddleHenrico County Public Schools1,05617.662%76%

65.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Virginia’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,541 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.0 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,541
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$359,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.05Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate64.5%Bottom 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±115144,916Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$29$1,541Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,237$359,200Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.8%Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate5.2%Bottom 6%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
48/ 100
Ranks 644 of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

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 1% since 2020, reaching 338,696 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

At 5.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
1,726
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.1
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
−1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
41.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024339k335k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420253k2k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+21%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 29°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.5 inches, including 8.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station RICHMOND INTL AP, 4.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index55.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation45.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall8.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10012024 calendar year
Median air quality index41.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing41°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

88 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, hurricane and drought.

EarthquakeElevated
Ice stormModerate
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate
LandslideModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, winter weather, heat wave, inland flooding, strong wind, tornado, hail, coastal flooding, wildfire.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Henrico County records 6.3 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 14.3 per 100,000 residents in Henrico County.

Homicide
6.3
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Henrico County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Henrico County rather than Henrico County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 5 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Richmond IntlRIC5 mi9,003 ft
Newport News/Williamsburg IntlPHF49 mi8,003 ft
Washington Dulles IntlIAD105 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
67
Your Score

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.