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What are the people in Virginia like? - Virginia's Demographics

Home » Virginia » Virginia Overview and History » What are the people in Virginia like? - Virginia's Demographics

In 2005, Virginia was estimated as having a population of over seven and a half million people which was a 1.2% increase from 2004 and a 6.9% increase from 2000. This increase is both due to natural increase (adding births and subtracting deaths) and immigration from other states and outside the United States. As of 2004, 9.1% of the state was foreign-born, and 100,000 of those residents were illegal aliens.

Race. Before the Civil War, about half of the population of Virginia was African American – made up of the slaves that worked the tobacco, hemp, and cotton plantations. After the war and the migration of Blacks, the percentage was reduced to about 20%. Virginia is now made up of 70.2% White non-Hispanic residents, 19.9% Blacks, 4.7% Hispanics, 3.7% Asians, .3% Native Americans, and 2% mixed races. According to reports, the largest ancestry groups in Virginia are African American, German, American, English, and Irish. Recent and current immigration is causing the population of Hispanics (specifically from Central America) and Asians to grow rapidly in areas of Virginia near Washington DC.

Gender and Age. According to the recent reports, the ages of Virginia residents vary. 11.2% of the population is 65 or older, 57.7% is from 18 to 64 years of age, 24.6% is under 18, and 6.5% is under 5. Regarding gender, 51% of the population is female.

Religion. Virginia’s religious polls show the affiliations of Virginians to be fairly traditional. 84% of people living there claimed their religion to be Christian (69% protestant and 14% Roman Catholic), 12% claimed no religion, and 2% claimed other religions.

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