Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
7,907 people call this town in Virginia home.
Bellwood’s grades pull in different directions. The weak point is health — residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The town’s overall grade is C+, better than 36% of U.S. towns. It ranks 197th of 249 in Virginia. Incomes are weaker too — the median household income is $48K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. Where it does best is hazard risk (A). A typical home there costs about $323K, 3.7 years of the Richmond metro’s $87K median household income. Walkability is a strength too: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than just over two thirds of U.S. towns.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow.
Where Bellwood beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
6,352 counted in 2010 and 7,678 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Bellwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A for hazard risk (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 4%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,974 in 2000, 7,678 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers and 8 maps from 1894 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bellwood. Close and well known come first.
9 mi LandmarkHollywood Cemetery
30 mi Theme parkKings Dominion
9 mi MuseumWhite House of the Confederacy
10 mi LandmarkRobert E. Lee Monument
5 mi Ancient siteHenricus
10 mi Stadium & arenaRichmond ColiseumHollywood Cemetery: Andrew Bain, Public domain · Kings Dominion: Erechtheus, CC BY-SA 3.0 · White House of the Confederacy: AlbertHerring, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Robert E. Lee Monument: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Henricus: Morgan Riley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Richmond Coliseum: Mentes at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bellwood is unincorporated, so Chesterfield County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bellwood.
Bellwood trades workers with Richmond and other neighbors, but it has poverty well above the Virginia rate and has many renters stretched by housing costs.
In Bellwood, 17% of adults have diabetes. Only 8 of the 253 Virginia towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Bellwood. The town does better than the Virginia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 22.
| Bellwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 17% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bellwood | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 7.7% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 28% | 13.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its one school is below. The Chesterfield County Public Schools runs its public schools. Bellwood’s only public school teaches 493 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellwood ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 493 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Expected losses in Bellwood break down as 54% from inland flooding and 13% from earthquakes. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in the town than in 89% of U.S. communities.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
61.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.5% across Virginia.
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 3.2%. The midpoint rent for Bellwood comes to $1,059 a month. For households locally, the share who own their home is 44%.
| Bellwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,059 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Bellwood, the midsummer high is 90°F, against 88°F in Virginia’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bellwood has about as many jobs (3,170) as working residents, but only 84 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 2,229 in 2013 to 3,170.
Bellwood’s mean commuting time stands at 24 minutes. Most working residents leave Bellwood for work: only 3% work in town. In Bellwood, just over a fifth of residents live below the poverty line, where Virginia’s towns sit at 7.7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Among workers here, 6.5% do their job from home.
| Bellwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.5% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Trails run 2.2 miles in 3 parks and preserves. Bellwood’s trail network density comes in at 0.4 miles per square mile.
| Bellwood | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bensley Park | 0.6 mi | 17 |
| 2. Falling Creek Ironworks | — | 4 |
| 3. Fort Stevens Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
7 within 15 miles of the center of Bellwood
About 4 of every 100 Bellwood residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
2 places in Bellwood on the National Register of Historic Places.
CDP in Virginia, United States
Bellwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bellwood had a population of 7,678. The community takes its name from Bellwood, one of the James River Plantations.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Bellwood.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellwood | #197 | C+ | B | — | B | D− |
| Bensley | #207 | C | B− | — | B | D− |
| Chester | #148 | B | C | — | B | B |
| Meadowbrook | #210 | C | C | — | B | C− |
Bellwood, Bensley, Chester and Meadowbrook report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bellwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bellwood grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #197 of 249 in Virginia. It grades D− for health and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
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