AreaProfile

Richmond, Virginia

Area Profile

229,359 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Richmond, in Richmond city.

67
Area Score
Top 27% of 133 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity94th of 139 published cities49
GrowthTop 32% of 134 published cities61
Housing affordability106th of 150 published cities58
ClimateTop 31% of 149 published cities75
Physical resilienceTop 17% of 150 published cities82
Access58th of 149 published cities97
Economic stability92nd of 150 published cities52
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 2,714 units authorized over the past twelve months, 20% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published city profiles, placing Richmond in the top 17% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 9 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
229,359
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$64,587
Bottom 47% nationally
Density
3,827/sq mi
59.9 sq mi of land
Median age
34.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Richmond city
Virginia
Metro area
Richmond, VA
Nearest major airport
RIC
9 mi · Richmond Intl
Median home value
$353,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2% is lower than 69% of the 140 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.1% over the past year, to 124,246 employed residents.

46% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 86% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,911$64,587Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,069$45,790Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate18.2%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.1 minBottom 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher45.6%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment124,246Bottom 37%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.0%Bottom 21%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.1%Bottom 14%June 2026
Labor force129,658Bottom 37%June 2026
Labor force participation68.3%Top 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$68,400Top 45%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,460Top 33%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 35%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.2%Bottom 31%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/065.92.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.2% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202465k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $64,587 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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,372 takes 25% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.5 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
25.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,372
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$353,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.47Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate43.5%Bottom 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±103114,293Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$20$1,372Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,576$353,000Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income25.5%Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate8.7%Bottom 45%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
61/ 100
Top 32% of 134 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 2 consecutive years, 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 3% since 2020, reaching 233,655 in 2024.

81% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 11.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
2,714
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
11.9
Top 4% nationally
Year over year
−20%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
81.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024234k227k
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
202020222023202420253k892
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+201%).

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.

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, 8.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
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
Seasonal temperature swing41°F1991-2020 Normals

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.

Physical risk

82 / 100
Physical resilience

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

EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 9 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Richmond IntlRIC9 mi9,003 ft
Newport News/Williamsburg IntlPHF61 mi8,003 ft
Washington Dulles IntlIAD98 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
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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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
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)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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.

ZIP codes in Richmond

5 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
2323447,465$66,61966
2322542,771$62,94966
2322440,575$50,47563
2322034,671$61,38164
2322226,322$61,34567