Chesapeake

Chesapeake County252,583 residentsChesapeake City Public Schools
52
D+
Suburbgrade score

7th of 11 Virginia Beach suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by amenities.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Chesapeake yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 52 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →

What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.

What Chesapeake is like to live in, by category

Bars show Chesapeake against Virginia Beach. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 56/100
C−
Median home value$378,400
Virginia Beach $340,900
Median rent$1,586/mo
Virginia Beach $1,478/mo
Cost-burdened households33%
Virginia Beach 35%

Schools

18% of the score · 59/100
C
Within-state proficiency—
Virginia Beach median 13th pct
Student–teacher ratio15.1
Virginia Beach median 14.3
Graduation rate91%
Virginia Beach median 87%
EDFacts SY2021–22 · NCES CCD 2024–25 · EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19Full page →

Cost of living

14% of the score · 70/100
B−
Housing cost index108
Virginia Beach 100
Eff. tax rate0.78%
Virginia Beach 0.78%
Local sales tax5.77%
Virginia Beach median 5.77%
Composed in-house · ACS 2020–24 · ACS 2020–24 · Tax Foundation state average, January 1, 2026Full page →

Commute & transport

14% of the score · 52/100
D+
Mean commute25.8 min
Virginia Beach 24.9 min
Under 30 minutes61%
Virginia Beach 66%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Virginia Beach median 0.0 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 8/100
F
Restaurants & cafés0
Virginia Beach median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries0
Virginia Beach median 2 · within 2 miles
Parks4
Virginia Beach median 20 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 58/100
C
Median household income$95,373
Virginia Beach $82,330
Unemployment4.9%
Virginia Beach 4.8%
Professional occupations47%
Virginia Beach 43%

Residents

12% of the score · inactive
—

No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.

Ask the people who live here

Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.

0 responses·Residents category: waiting for first responses·Live

Nobody has answered for Chesapeake yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →

Better than Chesapeake on amenities

Chesapeake's weakest grade is F. Four suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.

Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026

Common questions about living in Chesapeake

Is Chesapeake, VA a good place to live?

Chesapeake scores 52 out of 100, 7th of 11 Virginia Beach suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is Chesapeake expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $378,400, 11% above the Virginia Beach median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.78%. $1,586/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in Chesapeake?

Schools grade C. The districts serving Chesapeake sit at the — within-state proficiency percentile, with a 91% graduation rate and a 15.1 student–teacher ratio. Chesapeake is served by Chesapeake City Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from Chesapeake?

The mean commute is 25.8 min, with 61% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 13% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in Chesapeake?

Within two miles there are 0 groceries, 0 restaurants and cafés and 4 parks, which grades F on amenities.

Are the homes in Chesapeake old or new?

The median home in Chesapeake was built in 1989 — newer than the Virginia Beach median of 1983. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 81% of homes are houses rather than flats.

Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.