Chesapeake, Virginia
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Chesapeake.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Chesapeake compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 251,153City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $94,189Incorporated place (ACS)20% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 116ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)16% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $359,100City limits (ACS)18% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,523City limits (ACS)13% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.6%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 26 minNear U.S. avg (25 min)U.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 2153% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 456.3annualized per 100k · citywide24% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 2273.5annualized per 100k · citywide26% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 90°F3.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 35°FNear U.S. avg (34°F)U.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 48.6 in48% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 36537% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Chesapeake with another city
Federal-contractor suburbs and Atlantic coastal towns pull different budgets. Roughly 365 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Average one-way commute time is about 26 minutes, and Walk Score estimates land around 21/100. Labor-market readings near 3.6% unemployment are neither boom nor bust by national standards. Violent-offense rates near 456.3 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
About 251,153 people live in Chesapeake, VA. With median income around $94,189 and a cost index of 116, the market reads above the national housing-cost baseline. Entry home prices around $359,100 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Chesapeake is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Chesapeake with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Chesapeake city, 1600000US5116000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN515500000000003 (Chesapeake city, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00013762 FENTRESS NAAS)
Last updated 2026-07-28