Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Colonial Heights grades C+ overall, 186th of 249 graded towns in Virginia, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, its crime rate is higher than 90% of U.S. towns, with 76 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $77K. A typical home there costs about $296K, 3.4 years of the Richmond metro’s $87K median household income. Colonial Heights’ property crime rate is 35.4 per 1,000 residents, against 14.5 in Virginia’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Of the 253 Virginia towns we compare, none has a higher July high than Colonial Heights. Colonial Heights is home to Southside College of Health Sciences.
Where Colonial Heights beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Colonial Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,331 in 1930, 18,170 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1815 and 7 maps from 1894 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Colonial Heights. Close and well known come first.
19 mi LandmarkHollywood Cemetery
40 mi Theme parkKings Dominion
38 mi MuseumColonial Williamsburg
8 mi Ancient siteHenricus
21 mi LandmarkRobert E. Lee Monument
19 mi MuseumWhite House of the ConfederacyHollywood Cemetery: Andrew Bain, Public domain · Kings Dominion: Erechtheus, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Colonial Williamsburg: Humberto Moreno, CC BY 2.0 · Henricus: Morgan Riley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Robert E. Lee Monument: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · White House of the Confederacy: AlbertHerring, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Colonial Heights, and how to reach them.
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 Colonial Heights.
Colonial Heights has hotter summers than almost anywhere else in Virginia and trades workers with Richmond and other neighbors, but it reports property crime at about twice the Virginia rate.
Property crime runs at 35.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Virginia rate, most of it theft.
Colonial Heights’ violent crime rate is 4 per 1,000 residents. Colonial Heights reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Colonial Heights City Public Schools. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Colonial Heights High, with 886 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial Heights MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 700 | C+ |
| Colonial Heights HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 886 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
6.7 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is White Bank Park, at 25 acres. The trail density in Colonial Heights is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Colonial Heights | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Appamatuck Park | 0.6 mi | 21 |
| 2. White Bank Park | 0.1 mi | 25 |
| 3. Fort Clifton Park | — | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Colonial Heights home is worth about $296,000, up 1.2% in a year, 28% below the Virginia typical home.
| Colonial Heights | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,234 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 68% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 89.7°, the highest of 700 Virginia places with climate records; January nights average 28.7°.
Colonial Heights has mild winters and warm summers. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Colonial Heights has about as many jobs (8,764) as working residents, but only 1,085 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Colonial Heights for work: only 13% work in town. 8.2% of Colonial Heights workers work from home. The top destinations are Richmond (11%), Petersburg (5%) and Hopewell (2%).
| Colonial Heights | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 8.2% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $77,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
63 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 63 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Colonial Heights.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Colonial Heights beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 37% of adults have high blood pressure in Colonial Heights.
| Colonial Heights | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Colonial Heights | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.7% |
| More adults with arthritis | 29.7% | 26.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Colonial Heights
About 5 of every 100 Colonial Heights residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
6 places in Colonial Heights on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Colonial Heights.
Independent city in Virginia, United States
Colonial Heights is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,170. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the City of Colonial Heights (along with the City of Petersburg) with Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes. Colonial Heights is located in the Tri-Cities area of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Colonial Heights.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial Heights | #186 | C+ | B | D | B− | B |
| Ettrick | #95 | A− | A | — | B | B |
| Petersburg | #241 | D− | B | D | D | D |
Ettrick reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Colonial Heights with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Colonial Heights grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #186 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Safety 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.
3 notable people were born here, including Gray Gaulding and The Unipiper.
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