Portsmouth is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 96,793 people and 31 associated neighborhoods, Portsmouth is the 11th largest community in Virginia.

There are many members of the armed forces living in Portsmouth. 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 interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 7.86% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

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

The citizens of Portsmouth are slightly better educated than the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns, with 23.20% of adults in Portsmouth having a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Portsmouth in 2022 was $32,915, which is middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $131,660 for a family of four. However, Portsmouth contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Portsmouth is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Portsmouth home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Portsmouth residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Portsmouth include English, Irish, German, African, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Portsmouth is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Tagalog.