This month’s map examines median age of the population by race or ethnicity across the Hampton Roads region. Using the latest 2017-2022 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates, block groups in Hampton Roads were mapped by census-designated race categories which include: White, Black or African American, Asian, “Two or more races,” and “Some other race.” Two additional categories, American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander were not mapped individually because the overall population in Hampton Roads is too small to reveal any patterns. However, these two categories are included in the median age map for the total population. The Hispanic population was also mapped separately.
The regional pattern shows that the urban and suburban areas tend to have a younger population while more rural areas have an older population. This is true across the larger race categories by population, including White, Black or African American, and “Two or more races.” The remaining categories do not have as high a proportion of the population living in rural areas and so their older population tends to be closer to urban and suburban areas. As expected, the neighborhoods with retirement communities (such as James City County) have older populations and neighborhoods near the military installations tend to have younger populations.
The table below shows the population by race category and the median age for that group in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). There is a significant difference in median age when comparing race categories. The median age for the White population is the oldest in Hampton Roads at 40.5 years compared to the youngest population classified as “Two or more races” with a median age of 22.7 years. The “Some other race” and Hispanic groups also have a median age less than 30 years old. The median age for the total population in Hampton Roads is 37 years.
Clicking on one of the maps will open an information box that show the median age by sex as well as a chart comparing all the median ages for the race categories in that block group.
Click here to the view the application in a new page.