Hampton Roads Local Living Guide
New to Hampton Roads, or still weighing it? Start here. What each town is actually like, what homes really cost, and what's going on this week.
Credit
The towns
They're not interchangeable. Open any one for what you'd pay, how the schools rate, and what it's like to live there day to day.
Credit
Credit
Credit
Credit
Credit
Credit
Virginia Beach City
Virginia's most populous city. The resort Oceanfront and boardwalk, Sandbridge, and NAS Oceana, with suburban neighborhoods stretching south to the North Carolina line.
Norfolk City
The region's urban center. Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest navy base, plus Old Dominion University and a downtown waterfront on the Elizabeth River.
Chesapeake City
Virginia's second-most populous city. Greenbrier and Great Bridge suburbs in the north, farmland and the Great Dismal Swamp in the south.
Portsmouth City
Olde Towne's historic district and the Naval Medical Center, with Norfolk Naval Shipyard, one of the oldest in the country, on the Elizabeth River.
Suffolk City
Virginia's largest city by land area. Harbour View suburbs on the James River at one end, downtown Suffolk and peanut-country farmland at the other.
Hampton City
Fort Monroe, Langley Air Force Base, NASA Langley Research Center, and Hampton University on the Peninsula's bayfront.
Newport News City
Home of Newport News Shipbuilding, the country's largest military shipyard. Neighborhoods stretch from downtown near the yard to Denbigh and Lee Hall upriver.
Poquoson City
A small independent city on a low-lying peninsula facing the Chesapeake Bay, with working-waterman roots and water on three sides.
Williamsburg City
Colonial Williamsburg and the College of William & Mary in a compact independent city between the James and York rivers.
James City County
Most of the Williamsburg area's subdivisions and golf communities, plus Jamestown Island and the western end of the Colonial Parkway.
York County
Yorktown's battlefield and riverfront at one end, commuter neighborhoods serving the Peninsula's bases and shipyard at the other.
Gloucester County
Across the York River on the Middle Peninsula. Gloucester Point, the Court House village, and rural bayside farmland.
Isle of Wight County
Smithfield's historic district and ham-making heritage on the south side of the James, with Windsor and rural farmland behind it.
Mathews County
A small Chesapeake Bay county at the tip of the Middle Peninsula: waterfront villages, tidal creeks, and the New Point Comfort lighthouse.
Southampton County
Rural peanut-and-cotton country on the Nottoway and Blackwater rivers, wrapping around the city of Franklin.
Franklin City
A small independent city on the Blackwater River with a walkable downtown and a paper-mill industrial heritage.
Surry County
Rural Southside county on the James opposite Jamestown: the Jamestown-Scotland ferry, Bacon's Castle, and the Surry nuclear power station.
Tools & lists
Credit
Comparing costs in Hampton Roads? Use the moving guide for costs, taxes, and local tradeoffs.
Open the calculator →Also exploring Southwest Virginia?
This page is focused on Hampton Roads. Open a neighboring guide when your search crosses into another part of the region.