Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hopewell grades D− overall, 242nd among Virginia's 249 graded towns, mostly because of health and schools. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its public schools trail 94% of Virginia towns on state tests and graduation. In its favor, a typical home costs about $232K, 2.7 years of the Richmond metro’s $87K median household income. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Hopewell, against 7.7% in Virginia’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Hopewell has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Appomattox Manor and City Point National Cemetery. Only 8 of the 253 Virginia towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Hopewell.
Where Hopewell beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Appomattox Manor| Widest gap | Hopewell | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.4% | 7.1% |
Census counts: 1,397 in 1920, 23,033 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1861 and 7 maps from 1894 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Hopewell is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hopewell. Close and well known come first.
19 mi LandmarkHollywood Cemetery
33 mi MuseumColonial Williamsburg
39 mi Theme parkKings Dominion
36 mi Theme parkBusch Gardens Williamsburg
7 mi Ancient siteHenricus
19 mi MuseumWhite House of the ConfederacyHollywood Cemetery: Andrew Bain, Public domain · Colonial Williamsburg: Humberto Moreno, CC BY 2.0 · Kings Dominion: Erechtheus, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Cjh1452000, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Henricus: Morgan Riley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · White House of the Confederacy: AlbertHerring, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hopewell, 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 Hopewell.
Hopewell has homes that are cheap against local pay and fares better on crime within Virginia than nationally, but it has poverty well above the Virginia rate.
45% of Hopewell adults sleep under 7 hours. Among 253 Virginia towns, just 1 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Hopewell. 36% of Hopewell adults get no exercise outside work.
| Hopewell | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 11% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 36% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Hopewell | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.4% | 7.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 28% | 13.1% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 14.5% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Hopewell City Public Schools. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hopewell High, with 1,136 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter G. Woodson MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 803 | D |
| Hopewell HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,136 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
At 2.7 years of the Richmond metro’s $87K median household income, the typical home (about $233K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
Hopewell’s median rent is $1,106 a month. The typical Hopewell home is worth about $233,000, up 2.4% in a year, 44% below the Virginia typical home. 58% of households own their home in Hopewell.
| Hopewell | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,106 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 32.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of Virginia’s graded towns.
The violent crime rate in Hopewell is 3.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Hopewell | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.9 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Hopewell for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Hopewell fell to 6,972 in 2023, 527 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Richmond (10%), Petersburg (5%) and Colonial Heights (3%).
| Hopewell | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 12% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
5.1 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Grant's Headquarters at City Point, at 26 acres.
| Hopewell | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grant's Headquarters at City Point | 0.7 mi | 26 |
| 2. Atwater Soccer Complex | 0.3 mi | 18 |
| 3. Arlington Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Hopewell has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 29° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1999, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hopewell.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Hopewell
About 4 of every 100 Hopewell residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
Where Hopewell’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 places in Hopewell on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Hopewell.
Independent city in the United States
Hopewell is an independent city surrounded by Prince George County and the Appomattox River in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 23,033. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Hopewell with Prince George County for statistical purposes. Hopewell is in the Tri-Cities area of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Hopewell.
Enon reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Hopewell with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hopewell grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #242 of 249 in Virginia. It grades D− for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
14 notable people were born here, including Joel Broyhill and Abraham Charnes.
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