Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 32/100
F
Median home value$246,900
Virginia Beach $340,900
Median rent$1,300/mo
Virginia Beach $1,478/mo
Cost-burdened households45%
Virginia Beach 35%
Portsmouth
Portsmouth County97,190 residentsPortsmouth City Public Schools
51
D+
Suburbgrade score
8th of 11 Virginia Beach suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
51
Virginia Beach median 54
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Portsmouth yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 51 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 Portsmouth is like to live in, by category
Bars show Portsmouth against Virginia Beach. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 58/100
C
Within-state proficiency—
Virginia Beach median 13th pct
Student–teacher ratio14.0
Virginia Beach median 14.3
Graduation rate80%
Virginia Beach median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 76/100
B
Housing cost index88
Virginia Beach 100
Eff. tax rate0.95%
Virginia Beach 0.78%
Local sales tax5.77%
Virginia Beach median 5.77%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 57/100
C−
Mean commute23.7 min
Virginia Beach 24.9 min
Under 30 minutes65%
Virginia Beach 66%
Transit stops / sq mi0.8
Virginia Beach median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 50/100
D+
Restaurants & cafés18
Virginia Beach median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Virginia Beach median 2 · within 2 miles
Parks23
Virginia Beach median 20 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 37/100
F
Median household income$60,491
Virginia Beach $82,330
Unemployment6.6%
Virginia Beach 4.8%
Professional occupations35%
Virginia Beach 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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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.
Nobody has answered for Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth on housing & affordability
Portsmouth's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Poquoson19 mi from PortsmouthC+ 54 C− Chesapeake13 mi from PortsmouthC− 52 D+ Virginia Beach19 mi from PortsmouthC− 64 C+ Suffolk19 mi from PortsmouthD+ 51 D+ Hampton13 mi from PortsmouthF 55 C− Newport News18 mi from PortsmouthF 55 C− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Portsmouth
Is Portsmouth, VA a good place to live?
Portsmouth scores 51 out of 100, 8th 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 Portsmouth expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $246,900, 28% below the Virginia Beach median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.95%. $1,300/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Portsmouth?
Schools grade C. The districts serving Portsmouth sit at the — within-state proficiency percentile, with a 80% graduation rate and a 14.0 student–teacher ratio. Portsmouth is served by Portsmouth City Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Portsmouth?
The mean commute is 23.7 min, with 65% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 8.7% working from home. Transit density is 0.8 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Portsmouth?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 18 restaurants and cafés and 23 parks, which grades D+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Portsmouth old or new?
The median home in Portsmouth was built in 1967 — older 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. 70% 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.
Six Virginia Beach lists
Best Virginia Beach suburbs for familiesMost affordable Virginia Beach suburbsBest Virginia Beach suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown Virginia BeachMost walkable Virginia Beach suburbsBest Virginia Beach suburbs for young professionals