Portsmouth is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 96,793 people and 31 associated neighborhoods, Portsmouth is the 11th largest community in Virginia.Unlike some cities, Portsmouth isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Portsmouth are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Portsmouth is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Portsmouth who work in office and administrative support (12.32%), sales jobs (8.58%), and management occupations (7.99%). Portsmouth is home to a number of people employed in the armed forces. When you visit or walk around Portsmouth, some of the people you will bump into will be military people In and out of uniform, jogging, shopping and generally out and about town. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 7.86% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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. Portsmouth 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities. The population of Portsmouth overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Portsmouth, 23.20% have at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Portsmouth in 2022 was $32,915, which is middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $131,660 for a family of four. However, Portsmouth contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Portsmouth is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Portsmouth home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Portsmouth residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Portsmouth include English, Irish, German, African, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Portsmouth is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Tagalog.
