Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Virginia

Real estate agents and brokers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate agents and brokers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #375 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia

Listings
2,720
75 chain locations (3%)
Official establishments
1,039
+35.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$11.2B
On rent and homeowner costs · $15,777 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
75
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
38.5
26% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,797,213
+0.9% since 2020

See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area

The site report maps the real estate agents and brokers on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 29 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers, ranking #375 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area spend about $11.2B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $15,777 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 25% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate agents and brokers take in.

The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 2,720 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. 75 of them (3%) are chain locations, against 4% across the U.S. That comes to 38.5 for every 10,000 households, 26% above the U.S. rate of 30.6.

Official counts show 1,039 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area in 2023, up 35.1% from 2019. That is one for every 681 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $1.6M have gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area compares

The same measures for Virginia and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate agents and brokers in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureVirginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro areaVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households38.533.530.6
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)7592100
Households per official establishment681791788
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+35.1%+21.7%+20.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$15,777$16,844$16,661
Median household income$82,330$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score2939

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,039+35.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,532
Annual payroll, 2023
$169.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
2,72075 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,047The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$1.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,797,213+0.9% since 2020
Households
707,408
Median age
39.1
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
3,202 sq. mi.
People per square mile
558
Median household income
$82,330
Average household income
$108,120
Median home value
$340,900
Jobs located here
729,464
Daytime population
1,773,219Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area?

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Real estate agents and brokers across Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Virginia

Metro areas in Virginia ranked for real estate agents and brokers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA6719615.0169+2.3%#48 of 387
1Harrisonburg, VA6210120.2136+3.5%#79 of 387
2Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA5014821.1127−0.1%#179 of 387
3Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA4712824.5110+3.2%#208 of 387
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV478,99537.992+3.3%#214 of 387
4Richmond, VA461,69731.894+5.5%#224 of 387
5Winchester, VA-WV4618433.188+6.5%#225 of 387
6Charlottesville, VA4129933.193+3.1%#271 of 387
7Roanoke, VA3636227.598+0.4%#323 of 387
8Lynchburg, VA3529428.493+2.9%#334 of 387
9Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC292,72038.575+0.9%#375 of 387

Other business types in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,720 real estate agents and brokers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. 75 of them (3%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 1,039 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 35.1% from 2019.

How much do households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $11.2B a year, or $15,777 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 2,720 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 25% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate agents and brokers take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 707,408 households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?

The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 38.5 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 26% above the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 75, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area would have about 2,047, against 2,720 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 681 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 35.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area at 1,797,213 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 707,408 households. Median household income in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area is $82,330, 2% above the U.S. median of $80,734.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 29 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #375 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. It maps the real estate agents and brokers on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate agents and brokers · All 56 business types in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.