City safety & data profile

SuffolkVA

Suffolk, VA is a 88K-resident city in Suffolk city with a median household income of $92,666.

Suffolk city, Virginia. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Suffolk, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Suffolk has a population larger than 91% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $347,400, and 2 hospitals serving the surrounding area.

Data updated 2026-09-16
88K
Population (place)
Top 9%
By size
$92,666
Median income (place)
$347,400
Median home (place)
9.4%
Poverty rate (place)
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The read on Suffolk

Suffolk posts a median household income higher than 63% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 6 recent safety alerts are on record and 2 hospitals serve the Suffolk area.

Top 37%
by median income, US cities
6
safety alerts on record
2
hospitals in & near Suffolk

Composite score · Suffolk, VA

61/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2024

A transparent index Areazine derives from Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published, not an official Census Bureau or FBI rating. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move to or avoid any place. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Violent crime B+
194 /100k

FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents. State-level rate (per-city UCR reporting is incomplete/voluntary): every city in the state shares this value; lower is stronger on this axis.

Household income C+
$92,666

Median household income vs cities tracked on Areazine; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Poverty rate C
9.4%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis. ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Bachelor's+ share C-
33.3%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Suffolk in context: the full national tables: Healthiest Cities in America (health outcomes only) · Community Wellbeing Cities (this page's blended composite).

Where Suffolk income ranks nationally

Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)

$92,666 Top 37% higher than 63% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles

Suffolk $0 $260,000 every profiled place, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $20,000-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year

Biggest cities by headcount in VA

Population among 102 VA places with 10,000+ residents and ACS income on Areazine. Tooltip shows the income rank in the same pool.

residents

What this shows Virginia Beach is the largest VA city on this list; Great Falls leads median income.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

Top earners by city in VA

Median household income among the same 102-city pool. Tooltip shows the population rank.

median

What this shows Income honors go to Great Falls here -- by headcount, that title belongs to Virginia Beach.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

The quick read

Reading Suffolk, VA beyond the headline numbers

Suffolk sits inside Suffolk city, Virginia, at roughly 36.73°N, -76.58°W. Population 88,161, $92,666 median household income. Median home value $347,400, median rent $1,563. Poverty rate 9.4%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.

2 hospitals in/around Suffolk, 4/5 avg rating, 1 with an ER. Climate: 59.4°F annual average, 52.1" precipitation.

Among the CDC measures on this page, binge drinking departs furthest from its peer median: 13% in Suffolk, the lowest-prevalence quarter of the 3,759 cities reporting that measure.

Remote work covers 10.7% of Suffolk workers, under the midpoint for reporting cities.

Median rent in Suffolk, VA runs $1,563/month, above the midpoint for reporting cities -- worth weighing against the income figures on this page.

At 9.4%, poverty in Suffolk, VA runs below the midpoint of reporting cities -- enough to matter locally, not enough to dominate the city's profile.

Unemployment in Suffolk sits at 4.6%, below the midpoint of reporting cities.

The median home in Suffolk costs roughly 3.7 times median household income, below the midpoint for reporting cities, so ownership remains reachable on a typical local wage.

33.3% of Suffolk adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, above the midpoint of reporting cities.

Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Suffolk from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Economic comparison bars use the unweighted average across tracked Census places with a reported value, not a household-weighted national median.

10-Year Trends 2013–2024

County-level trend (Suffolk city): Suffolk's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.

20132024
Population
99K+16%
Median Income
$92,666+40%
Median Home Value
$347,400+44%
Poverty Rate
9.4%-18%
Unemployment
4.6%-45%

The Economic Picture

Suffolk's poverty rate of 9.4% runs 24% below the tracked-city average, the most notable of the economic figures Areazine tracks here. A second figure worth noting: median household income at $92,666, 4% above the tracked-city average.

Economics indicators for Suffolk, VA
IndicatorValue
Median Rent
$1,563/mo
Poverty Rate
9.4% -24% vs avg
Unemployment 4.6%
Bachelor's Degree+ 33.3%
Work From Home 10.7%
Public Transit 0.2%

Population

White 46.5%
African American 42%
Asian 1.9%
Two or More Ethnicities 4.4%

Health at a Glance 15 measures

Health Indicators

Obesity
42.4%
Short Sleep Duration
40.3%
High Blood Pressure
39.7%
Physical Inactivity
26.1%
Frequent Mental Distress
17%
Diabetes
14%
Frequent Physical Distress
13.6%
Current Smoking
13.4%
Binge Drinking
13%
Current Asthma
11.8%

Preventive Care

Dental Visit 66.4%
Annual Checkup 81.1%

Other Measures

Lack of Health Insurance
8.4%
Coronary Heart Disease
6.1%
Stroke
3.8%

Nearby Healthcare 2 total

CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating (1-5): a composite score across dozens of reported measures, not a single outcome guarantee for any patient. It isn't adjusted for patient case mix and isn't directly comparable across hospital types, a critical-access facility and a large teaching hospital aren't rated on the same measure set.

Rating Distribution
★★★★★
0
★★★★
1
★★★
0
★★
0
★
0
Average Rating
4/5
Total Hospitals
2
With ER
1
SENTARA OBICI HOSPITAL
SUFFOLK · Acute Care Hospitals · ER
★★★★☆

Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 Normals
Avg Temperature
59°F
Annual Rainfall
52.1"
Hot Months (>80°F)
4
Cold Months (<40°F)
0
49°
31°
Jan
3.7"
52°
33°
Feb
3.0"
59°
39°
Mar
4.1"
69°
48°
Apr
3.6"
76°
57°
May
4.0"
83°
65°
Jun
4.7"
87°
70°
Jul
5.7"
85°
69°
Aug
5.8"
80°
63°
Sep
5.8"
71°
52°
Oct
4.3"
61°
41°
Nov
3.7"
53°
35°
Dec
3.7"

Cost of Living

BEA 2024
97.9 Regional Price Parity

2.1% below national average

US avg
97.9

Metro area: Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC (MSA)

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities via FRED. RPP of 100 = national average.

Flood Insurance Claims History

FEMA NFIP, county-level
59
Claims filed
$2.4M
Total paid out
X
Most common flood zone

Since 2016, NFIP has paid out $2.4M across 59 flood insurance claims filed in Suffolk city.

Hurricane Matthew alone generated 37 of those claims, the county's largest named flood event in this record.

Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims, via OpenFEMA. County-level data: individual claims are not attributed to a specific city or address by FEMA.

What alerts and safety updates affect Suffolk? 6

Flood Warnings

Flood Alert Issued for Tidal Deben Estuary in Suffolk

Environment Agency ·
Flood Warnings

Flood Alert Issued for Rattlesden River and River Gipping in Suffolk

Environment Agency ·
Flood Warnings

Flood Alert Issued for Rivers Blyth, Walpole, and Surrounding Watercourses in Suffolk

Environment Agency ·
Flood Warnings

Flood Alert Issued for Rivers Deben and Lark in Suffolk

Environment Agency ·
Flood Warnings

Flood Alert Issued for Rivers Deben and Lark in Suffolk as Water Levels Rise

Environment Agency ·
Flood Warnings

Flood Alert Issued for Tidal Deben Estuary in Suffolk Due to High Tides and Strong Winds

Environment Agency ·

City alert dispatch desk

Sheet VA-SUFFOLK · Suffolk

Suffolk: 20 tagged alerts; lead category Environment Agency flood warning.

  • VOL-ACTIVE 20 on record
  • MIX-LED 70% uk-floods
  • DESK-MIX NOAA
  • NEAR-PEER 16 · El Paso
  • RANK-UPPER #12 tagged volume

Tagged alert mix: Suffolk

Published notices carrying this city slug or location tag

Value

What this shows 20 tagged notices on record for Suffolk.

Source Areazine publication corpus As of Live tagged feed

Nearest tagged-volume peer: El Paso, TX (16 tagged · Δ4)

Counts reflect published articles tagged to Suffolk; untagged NOAA county warnings may still appear in the site feed. Browse Virginia state hubs · Methodology

Cities tracking a comparable alert volume 4

Nearest published-notice counts on Areazine (20 tagged here), a feed-density peer set, not an ACS demographic match.

El Paso, TX 16 alerts Phoenix, AZ 15 alerts California, MD 15 alerts Victoria, TX 13 alerts

Read with this city profile

Tracking Safety Alerts in Your Area

How Areazine tags Suffolk in the CAP feed
All safety guides →

Common Questions 9

What is the population of Suffolk, VA? ▼
Suffolk, VA has a population of 88,161 people, located in Suffolk city, Virginia.
What is the median household income in Suffolk? ▼
The median household income in Suffolk, VA is $92,666 per year, per the U.S. Census ACS. The poverty rate is 9.4%.
What is the median home value in Suffolk? ▼
The median home value in Suffolk, VA is $347,400. Median rent is $1,563/month.
What are the top health concerns in Suffolk? ▼
The top health indicators in Suffolk include Obesity (42.4%), Short Sleep Duration (40.3%), High Blood Pressure (39.7%). Data from CDC PLACES.
How many hospitals are in Suffolk? ▼
Suffolk has 2 hospitals with an average rating of 4/5 stars. 1 have emergency departments.
What is the median age in Suffolk? ▼
The median age in Suffolk, VA is 38.7 years. 33.3% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What is the climate like in Suffolk? ▼
Suffolk has an average annual temperature of 59.4°F and 52.1" of annual precipitation.
What is the cost of living in Suffolk? ▼
The regional price parity for Suffolk is 97.941, meaning prices are 2.1% below the national average.
Has Suffolk had flood insurance claims? ▼
Suffolk city, Virginia has recorded 59 NFIP flood insurance claims since 2016, totaling $2.4M in payouts. This is county-level data: FEMA does not attribute individual claims to a specific city.

Comparable cities by poverty or income, nationwide 8

Two ACS-derived peer sets for Suffolk, both outside Virginia so the neighborhoods are not the geographic nearby list below.

Similar poverty rate

Nearest place-level ACS poverty rates outside VA (9.4% here).

Waltham, MA 9.4% Lake Elsinore, CA 9.4% Coral Gables, FL 9.4% Beverly, MA 9.4%

Similar median income

Nearest place-level ACS median household incomes outside VA ($92,666 here).

Port Hueneme, CA $92,660 Marysville, OH $92,619 Winter Springs, FL $92,574 Roselle, NJ $92,762

Compare Suffolk with another city

Pick a second U.S. city to open a side-by-side profile on population, income, health, and hospitals, the same federal datasets as this page.

Quick picks:

Cities Close By 8

South Suffolk, VA 81K Portsmouth Heights, VA 99K Newport News, VA 186K Portsmouth, VA 96K Norfolk, VA 238K Chesapeake, VA 235K Hampton, VA 137K East Hampton, VA 148K
All cities in Virginia → Compare Suffolk vs South Suffolk → All comparisons → Browse all cities

Next steps for Suffolk

Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.

  • Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Suffolk area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
  • Income and poverty rate tell different stories, two places sharing a median can still diverge sharply on poverty.
  • Compare Suffolk against Virginia peers on any ranking lens. Explore Virginia

Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city. County-level trends are labeled when shown.

Data Sources

All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Suffolk city) where that is the smallest published unit.

Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census (place-level ACS), CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. County-level trends are labeled when shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-09-16.