Real estate · County · Virginia
Real estate businesses in Essex County, VA
How Essex County, VA compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #910 of 2,229 scored counties
#42 of 100 scored counties in Virginia
- Listings
- 7
- 1 chain location (14%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $61M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,716 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 201
- Twice the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.7
- 59% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 10,654
- +0.5% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Essex County
The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 Essex County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Essex County comes to about $61M a year: $13,716 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is twice the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.
Essex County has 7 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (14%) is a chain location, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 15.7 for every 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Essex County in 2023. That is one for every 889 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 62 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Essex County grew 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Essex County scores 53 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #910 of 2,229 scored counties and #42 of 100 scored counties in Virginia.
How Essex County 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.
| Measure | Essex County | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.7 | 41.0 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 201 | 95 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 889 | 411 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +16.8% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,716 | $16,844 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $56,520 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 8
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $281K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 62Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 71 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 14The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Essex County, 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 Essex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 10,654+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 4,447
- Median age
- 48.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 257 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 41
- Median household income
- $56,520+8.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,300
- Median home value
- $238,100
- Jobs located here
- 3,291
- Daytime population
- 8,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Essex County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Essex County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Virginia for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Virginia, with Essex County marked.
Top counties in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Caroline County, VA | 85 | 16 | 13.3 | 275 | +11.3% | #9 of 2,229 |
| 2Prince George County, VA | 79 | 9 | 7.0 | 523 | +2.0% | #34 of 2,229 |
| 3King William County, VA | 79 | 6 | 8.2 | 444 | +9.5% | #37 of 2,229 |
| 4Rockingham County, VA | 78 | 26 | 8.0 | 448 | +6.6% | #47 of 2,229 |
| 5Frederick County, VA | 78 | 36 | 10.2 | 384 | +8.8% | #50 of 2,229 |
| 6Greene County, VA | 77 | 6 | 7.5 | 508 | +6.6% | #63 of 2,229 |
| 7Fluvanna County, VA | 76 | 12 | 11.6 | 328 | +6.2% | #83 of 2,229 |
| 8Madison County, VA | 73 | 7 | 12.8 | 284 | +2.7% | #142 of 2,229 |
| 9Southampton County, VA | 71 | 5 | 7.3 | 457 | +0.9% | #173 of 2,229 |
| 10Amherst County, VA | 71 | 14 | 11.0 | 300 | +2.1% | #185 of 2,229 |
| 42Essex County, VA | 53 | 7 | 15.7 | 201 | +0.5% | #910 of 2,229 |
Other business types in Essex County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Essex County, VA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 7 real estate businesses in Essex County. One of them (14%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts also show 62 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Essex County, VA spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $61M a year, or $13,716 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 7 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is twice 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 businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,447 households in Essex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Essex County, VA compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Essex County has 15.7 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 201, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Essex County would have about 14, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 889 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.
How fast is Essex County, VA growing?
Population estimates put Essex County at 10,654 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 4,447 households. Median household income in Essex County is $56,520, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 8.8%, before inflation.
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. Essex County scores 53 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #910 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Essex County. It maps the real estate businesses 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 businesses · All 56 business types in Essex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Essex County?
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 Essex County. 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.