Chesapeake is a relatively large coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 199,184 people and 33 constituent neighborhoods, Chesapeake is the third largest community in Virginia.

Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Chesapeake is neither predominently one or the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Chesapeake is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chesapeake who work in office and administrative support jobs (16.56%), sales jobs (10.97%), and management occupations (8.84%).

Also of interest is that Chesapeake has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

There are many members of the armed forces living in Chesapeake. You will notice when you visit or live here that some of the people you meet or see around town are employed by the armed services - even if they are not always in uniform.

One of the nice things about Chesapeake is that is it nautical, meaning that parts of the city are somewhat historic and on the ocean, or touch tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

"If you live in Chesapeake, you are going to have to drive to get to work," say area residents. At least that is what most Chesapeake residents do (96.7%). Chesapeake is primarily built for cars, and driving around town will bare this out. Shopping centers, parking lots, strip malls, and wide streets are what you'll find. Sidewalks? Sure. But not everywhere, and walking to most places can be downright scary.

Chesapeake Information and Demographics

The education level of Chesapeake citizens is substantially higher than the average US city or town, as 24.66% of adults in Chesapeake have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Chesapeake in 2000 was $20,949, which is upper middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $83,796 for a family of four.

Chesapeake is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Chesapeake home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Chesapeake is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Chesapeake include English, German, Irish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Chesapeake is English. Some people also speak Spanish.