Chincoteague is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 3,271 people and three associated neighborhoods, Chincoteague is the 163rd largest community in Virginia.Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Chincoteague is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Chincoteague is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chincoteague who work in food service (13.76%), office and administrative support (12.03%), and sales jobs (9.39%). Also of interest is that Chincoteague has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in Chincoteague telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 9.91% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Another notable thing is that Chincoteague is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live. The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Chincoteague has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Chincoteague a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here. Chincoteague is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 17.58 minutes getting to work every day. As is often the case in a small town, Chincoteague doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.The education level of Chincoteague citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 37.24% of adults in Chincoteague have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Chincoteague in 2022 was $42,338, which is upper middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $169,352 for a family of four. However, Chincoteague contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Chincoteague home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chincoteague residents report their race to be White. Important ancestries of people in Chincoteague include English, Irish, German, British, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Chincoteague is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Arabic.
