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Portsmouth, VA

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Our record for Portsmouth may be out of date. The most recent record we hold is from Tue May 26, 2026. (86 days ago) Newer meetings may not have been published to the official portal yet, or may not have been collected by us yet — this is a statement about our record, not about whether the city council has met. Check the official portal before concluding nothing is scheduled.
PortsmouthVA averageUS Census ACS
Population
97,299
Per-capita income
$32,915
Median home value
$229,400
Bachelor's or higher
23%
Typical home value $269,555 +1.3% yr/yr · +26.7% 5-yr
Home-value trend 2000–2026 (Zillow ZHVI)
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Municipal budget

US Census Annual Survey of Local Government Finances
Total revenue$523.3M (FY2023)
Total spending$525.7M (FY2023)
Taxes$208.2M (FY2023)
Debt outstanding$615.4M (FY2023)
Spending per resident$5,373 (FY2023)

Development activity

Housing units permitted — US Census Building Permits Survey
2025179 housing units ($24.0M)

Recent meetings

Tue May 26, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session & Council Meeting

Tue May 12, 2026

City of Portsmouth Broadband Meeting 4 PM Public Work Session 5 PM & Council Meeting 7 PM

Tue May 12, 2026

City of Portsmouth Broadband Meeting 4 PM Public Work Session 5 PM & Council Meeting 7 PM

Mon May 11, 2026

City of Portsmouth Public Work Session 5 PM & Council Meeting 7 PM

Mon May 11, 2026

City of Portsmouth Public Work Session

Mon May 11, 2026

City of Portsmouth Public Work Session

Tue Apr 28, 2026

Council Meeting

Tue Mar 31, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session

Tue Mar 24, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session 5 PM & council Meeting 7 PM

Mon Mar 23, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session

Tue Mar 10, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session 5 PM and Council Meeting 7 PM

Tue Feb 24, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session

Tue Feb 10, 2026

Broadband meeting 4 PM Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session 5 PM & Council Meeting 7 PM

Mon Feb 9, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session

Wed Feb 4, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session

Tue Jan 13, 2026

Broad Band Meeting 4 PM Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session 5 PM & Council Meeting 7 PM

Mon Jan 12, 2026

Portsmouth City Council Public Work Session

💰 Federal awards (top 10 by amount)
Largest recent federal contract/grant awards to recipients in this city (2023–present), via USAspending.gov.
$191.7MW. F. MAGANN CORP
Department of Defense · BASE BID- DESIGN PACKAGE 1
$37.6MW. F. MAGANN CORP
Department of Defense · BASE PRICE
$27.5MSIMIS, INC.
Department of Defense · IGF::OT::IGF JT&E JOINT PROGRAM OFFICE SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE R&D RE
$24.9MW. F. MAGANN CORP
Department of Defense · X006 RM19-0182 DBB NNSY CAISSON 8 INSTALL FLOOD THROUGH VALVES (W
$14.5MCROFTON CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, INCORPORATED
Department of Defense · CRANEY ISLAND PIER CHARLIE REPAIRS, NORFOLK VA
$12.6MPORTCO INC
Department of the Interior · NCR-NAMA: CUSTODIAL CONTRACT
$11.8MEPSILON SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS INC
Department of Defense · C420B_USS O'KANE (DDG-77) FY23 CMAV S001 DELIVERY ORDER
$11.0MMYMIC LLC
Department of Defense · INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING SUPPORT (IT/KE) TASK
$11.0MEPSILON SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS INC
Department of Defense · IGF::OT::IGF
$9.1MW. F. MAGANN CORP
Department of Defense · REPLACE DEPERMING STATION SUBSTATION DS-20, NAVAL STATION NORFOLK

Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury) — federal awards only, not city budgets.

🌐 County-level context (Portsmouth City)
County-level context — from BLS, IRS, FEMA, HUD, Census. These figures cover the whole county this city sits in, not just the city itself.
Net migration-405 people (-$15.7M net AGI · 2023)
Federal disasters (10 yr)5 ({"Hurricane": 10, "Snowstorm": 2, "Biological": 2, "Flood": · last Fri Jan 23, 2026)
Traffic fatalities6 (1 pedestrian · 2024)
Business establishments1,597 (25,089 employees · 2023)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)$1,696/mo (3,004 assisted households · 2025)
Adults with low literacy27.7% (low numeracy 43% · 2017)

Sources: BLS LAUS, IRS SOI, FEMA, NHTSA FARS, Census CBP, HUD, NCES PIAAC

City profile

Everything below is drawn from this city’s own public record and primary-source government data. AI-written summaries are a finding aid, not a citable quote.

$523.3M
Annual budget
$615.4M
Debt outstanding
179
Permitted housing units

The money — in

source: Census gov-finance & state comptroller

Budget

Revenue$523.3M
Spending$525.7M
Operating spending ran ahead of revenue this year.

Debt load HIGH

Outstanding debt$615.4M
Debt-to-revenue1.18×
Debt-load index81 / 100
A debt-load indicator (national percentile of debt, deficit & aid-reliance) — not a solvency verdict. Cross-checked against official state fiscal-stress scores where they exist.

Outcomes — economic mobility

source: Opportunity Atlas (Harvard) · research use

For kids who grew up here in low-income households, their adult household-income rank (0–1). The average hides a gap by race:

White kids
0.417
All kids
0.344
Black kids
0.321

Research-only layer, shown here for context — not included in the CC BY 4.0 bulk download.

Where it’s happening

geocoded land-use decisions
🗺 Interactive map
Every rezoning, development approval, and permit — explore the geocoded records in the research explorer.
🔗 Embed this city · use the data

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