Newport News

Newport News County184,216 residentsNewport News City Public Schools
55
C−
Suburbgrade score

4th of 11 Virginia Beach suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Newport News yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 55 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →

What living here is actually like
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What Newport News is like to live in, by category

Bars show Newport News against Virginia Beach. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 35/100
F
Median home value$260,600
Virginia Beach $340,900
Median rent$1,339/mo
Virginia Beach $1,478/mo
Cost-burdened households37%
Virginia Beach 35%

Schools

18% of the score · 62/100
C
Within-state proficiency—
Virginia Beach median 13th pct
Student–teacher ratio16.7
Virginia Beach median 14.3
Graduation rate90%
Virginia Beach median 87%
EDFacts SY2021–22 · NCES CCD 2024–25 · EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19Full page →

Cost of living

14% of the score · 78/100
B+
Housing cost index89
Virginia Beach 100
Eff. tax rate0.94%
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 · 61/100
C
Mean commute23.1 min
Virginia Beach 24.9 min
Under 30 minutes71%
Virginia Beach 66%
Transit stops / sq mi0.2
Virginia Beach median 0.0 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 54/100
C−
Restaurants & cafés34
Virginia Beach median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries2
Virginia Beach median 2 · within 2 miles
Parks20
Virginia Beach median 20 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 46/100
D
Median household income$69,634
Virginia Beach $82,330
Unemployment5.8%
Virginia Beach 4.8%
Professional occupations37%
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 Newport News yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

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

Better than Newport News on housing & affordability

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

Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24

Common questions about living in Newport News

Is Newport News, VA a good place to live?

Newport News scores 55 out of 100, 4th of 11 Virginia Beach suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is Newport News expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $260,600, 24% below the Virginia Beach median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.94%. $1,339/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in Newport News?

Schools grade C. The districts serving Newport News sit at the — within-state proficiency percentile, with a 90% graduation rate and a 16.7 student–teacher ratio. Newport News is served by Newport News City Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from Newport News?

The mean commute is 23.1 min, with 71% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10% working from home. Transit density is 0.2 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in Newport News?

Within two miles there are 2 groceries, 34 restaurants and cafés and 20 parks, which grades C− on amenities.

Are the homes in Newport News old or new?

The median home in Newport News was built in 1979 — close to 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. 61% 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.