Portsmouth City County · Virginia · South · 97k residents
Portsmouth, VA: economy, jobs & business costs
The site-selection read on Portsmouth: labor costs, talent, corporate tax, energy, and business activity, with the Virginia median as the yardstick. Compare it live against any of 3,000 US cities.
Data coverage: ACS place data; supplementary fields may use state estimates.
Average weekly wages in the surrounding labor market run $1,351/wk. Virginia's corporate income tax rate is 6%. Commercial electricity averages 8.7¢/kWh.
Compare Portsmouth side by side
Avg. weekly wage
$1,351/wk
Corporate income tax
6%
Bachelor's degree or higher
24.3%
Commercial electricity
8.7¢/kWh
Economic momentum
How fast Portsmouth's economy is moving, ranked against the US cities we track.
13/100
Cooling
Ranks Portsmouth's residential building-permit and jobs growth against the US cities we cover. The label is relative pace, not a direction, so a market can rank low while some figures still rise. A higher score moves faster, it is not cheaper or better. This is economic activity, not commercial lease rates or vacancy. Not investment or relocation advice.
| ACS median home value | $246,900 |
| Price per sq. ft. | $220 |
| Property tax rate | 0.87% |
| 1-bedroom rent | $1,110/mo |
| 2-bedroom rent | $1,252/mo |
| State & local income tax | 4.36% |
| Sales tax | 5.75% |
| Corporate income tax | 6% |
| Avg. weekly wage | $1,351/wk |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 24.3% |
| Commercial electricity | 8.7¢/kWh |
| Businesses per 1k residents | 19.8/1k |
| Wage: Software developer | $136,460 |
| Wage: Registered nurse | $93,600 |
| Wage: General manager | $122,080 |
| Wage: Customer service | $42,730 |
| Wage: Warehouse worker | $36,380 |
| Wage: Heavy truck driver | $56,860 |
| Wage: Electrician | $62,900 |
| Wage: Retail salesperson | $34,240 |
| Cost of living index | 92 |
| Groceries index | 100 |
| Utilities | $175/mo |
| Transit pass | $70/mo |
| Gas price | $3.15/gal |
| Healthcare index | 98 |
| Childcare (per child) | $1,250/mo |
| Median household income | $60,491 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.9% |
| Population | 97k |
| Crime index | 32/100 |
| School rating | 6.8/10 |
| Walkability | 34/100 |
| Disaster risk | 54/100 |
| Avg. commute | 28 min |
| Sunny days / year | 210 days |
| July high | 88°F |
| January low | 32°F |
| Annual snowfall | — |
| Home price YoY | +0.5% |
| Home price MoM | +0.2% |
| Rent YoY | +4.7% |
| Rent MoM | +0.6% |
| Employment (jobs) YoY | -1.5% |
| Building permits YoY | -40.3% |
| Ocean coast | 22 mi |
| Big lake | 90 mi |
| Mountains | 162 mi |
| Major airport | 11 mi |
| Ski resort | 159 mi |
Popular comparisons
Nearby
- Norfolk, VA · 234k
- Chesapeake, VA · 253k
- Suffolk, VA · 99k
- Newport News, VA · 184k
- Hampton, VA · 138k
Similar size
- Roanoke, VA · 98k
- Lynchburg, VA · 79k
- Centreville, VA · 72k
- Dale City, VA · 71k
- Reston, VA · 64k
Real listings in Portsmouth
LoopNet ↗Crexi ↗CommercialCafe ↗
Links open third-party listing searches. WhereToHQ has no paid relationship with these sites.
- Is Portsmouth a good place to run a business?
- Virginia's corporate income tax rate is 6%; average weekly wages in the surrounding labor market run $1,351/wk; commercial electricity averages 8.7¢/kWh. Weigh these against your own priorities in the business comparison tool.
- What is the cost of living in Portsmouth, VA?
- Portsmouth indexes at 92 for day-to-day costs against a national baseline of 100, with a typical two-bedroom renting for $1,252/mo and a acs median home value of $246,900.
- How much does a house cost in Portsmouth?
- The acs median home value in Portsmouth is $246,900 (Census ACS estimate; individual listings vary).
- How much is rent in Portsmouth?
- A two-bedroom in Portsmouth rents for about $1,252/mo.