Pay and cost of living in Portsmouth city, VA
Across the 22 occupations we cover in Portsmouth city, VA, the middle median salary is $39,090 a year. Pay runs from $28,420 for Home Health and Personal Care Aides up to $129,090 for Software Developers, a spread of $100,670. Wages come from the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC survey area.
A one-bedroom apartment in Portsmouth city, VA has a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,488 a month and a two-bedroom $1,667. Rent, food, home energy and gasoline for one adult add up to $24,840 a year. After federal, FICA and state income taxes, the average occupation here takes home $41,077 a year, and 19 of the 22 occupations listed here (86%) earn enough take-home pay to cover the four basics.
Open any occupation below for its full payslip, the tax breakdown, the rent comparison and a plain-English explanation of what is left after the basics. Every figure uses the same method, so results are comparable from one job and one county to the next.
Housing, taxes and commute in Portsmouth city, VA
The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Portsmouth city, VA, set beside the Virginia and national medians.
Median household income in Portsmouth city, VA is $60,491, 35% below the Virginia median of $93,170 and $80,734 nationally. A year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent ($17,856) equals 29.5% of that income. The median of the occupation medians listed here, $39,090, is 35% below household income, which is expected because a household can hold more than one earner.
Homeowners in Portsmouth city, VA pay a median of $2,557 a year in real estate taxes, 8% below the Virginia median of $2,790. With a median home value of $246,900, 36% below the Virginia median of $383,700, the ratio of the two medians is 1.04% a year.
Renters in Portsmouth city, VA pay a median gross rent of $1,300 a month in the Census survey, 18% below the Virginia median of $1,579. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent used for the budgets on this site is $1,488; the Census figure covers rental units of every size.
Workers in Portsmouth city, VA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 23.7 minutes each way, 13% below the Virginia average of 27.3. 8.7% of workers work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally.