Households and housing in Portsmouth
How big households are in Portsmouth, VA, how many people live alone, how much of the housing stock sits vacant, when it was built and how many renters and owners spend more than 30% of income on housing.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, tables B11001, B25002, B25010, B25035, B25070 and B25091.
This story was assembled using AI and public data sources.
How Portsmouth lives.
Average household size: 2.38 people — U.S.: 2.54
Household types
- Family households: 60.4
- Living alone: 39.6
- Other non-family: 0
Housing cost burden
- Renters 30%+ of income: 53.3
- Owners 30%+ of income: 26.5
- U.S. renters 30%+: 46.9
Vacant housing units: 8.2% — U.S.: 10.4%
Average household size
- Portsmouth: 2.4
- Portsmouth city: 2.4
- VA: 2.5
- U.S.: 2.5
What it means
There are about 39,678 households here.
40% of them are someone living alone.
Half the housing stock was built before 1966 — the median year a structure here went up.
53% of renters spend 30% or more of household income on rent, compared with 47% nationally. Housing analysts call that cost-burdened.
27% of owners with a mortgage carry the same burden.
The vacancy rate runs 2.2 points below the national rate.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates — Population, income, housing, education, commuting and poverty figures
- Census Bureau API — ACS Detailed Tables — The endpoint these pages are generated from
- data.census.gov — Look up the same tables for any place yourself
- ACS accuracy statement — Estimates carry margins of error; small places vary the most
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