Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Newport News grades low on several counts. Safety is its weak spot (D): its police reported 1,441 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. Homes run about $292K for a typical one, 3.5 times the Virginia Beach metro’s $82K median household income. Its best grade is for walkability: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, ranking 227th of 249 in Virginia. Set against the rest, it does better than just over a tenth of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include First Baptist Church-Newport News and Matthew Jones House. Only 6 of Virginia’s 138 towns score lower on civic life.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Newport News beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Matthew Jones House
Census counts: 1,234 in 1890, 186,247 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1846 and 6 maps from 1921 on.
31 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Newport News is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Newport News. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Theme parkBusch Gardens Williamsburg
17 mi MuseumColonial Williamsburg
12 mi National MonumentFort Monroe National Monument
18 mi MuseumJamestown Settlement
20 mi MuseumMacArthur Memorial
24 mi Ancient siteWerowocomocoBusch Gardens Williamsburg: Cjh1452000, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Colonial Williamsburg: Humberto Moreno, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Monroe National Monument: Unknown, Public domain · Jamestown Settlement: Warfieldian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · MacArthur Memorial: Unknown, Public domain · Werowocomoco: engraved by William Hole, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Newport News, 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 Newport News.
Newport News reports violent crime at 4 times the Virginia rate, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Violent crime runs at 7.9 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the Virginia rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Reported crimes fell from 6,229 to 5,572 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Newport News, the property crime rate is 22.6 per 1,000 residents, against 14.5 in Virginia’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns.
| Newport News | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.6 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Of its 60 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Public schools: the Newport News City Public Schools. The 6 public schools in Newport News teach 3,602 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethel M. Gildersleeve MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,087 | C |
| Woodside HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,723 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
790 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 128 properties have flooded more than once.
Compared with 82% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Newport News is lower. Since 1978, 790 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally. 45% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 19%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Newport News after 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Values rose 2.9% in the 12 months to September 2026. 48% of Newport News households live in a home they own, below both the Virginia town median (68%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). A home in Newport News typically sold within 33 days of listing.
| Newport News | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,339 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 51% | 47% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Of 32 CDC measures, Newport News beats the Virginia average on 1 and trails it on 13. The share of adults in Newport News who feel lonely: 37%.
| Newport News | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Newport News | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.3% | 7.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.3% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Newport News Park, at 1,730 acres with 10.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 54 miles of trail wind through 54 parks and preserves. In Newport News, the trail network density is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Newport News | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Newport News Park | 10.9 mi | 1,730 |
| 2. Mariners Museum Park | 9.4 mi | 475 |
| 3. Mariners' Lake Natural Area | 0.9 mi | 115 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among workers in Newport News, 10% work remotely from home. The top destinations are Hampton (12%), Norfolk (5%) and Virginia Beach (4%). Newport News’ median household income stands at $70,000.
| Newport News | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 40% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 10% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
4 within 15 miles of the center of Newport News
About 8 of every 100 Newport News residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
2 colleges in town.
31 places in Newport News on the National Register of Historic Places.
60 notable people were born in Newport News.
Independent city in Virginia, United States
Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city in the United States. The city is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the northern shore of the James River to the river's mouth on the harbor of Hampton Roads. Most of the area now known as Newport News was once a part of Warwick County, one of the eight original shires of Virginia formed in the British Colony of Virginia by order of Charles I of England in 1634. Newport News was a rural area of plantations and a small fishing village …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Newport News.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newport News | #227 | D | C | D | C | C |
| Hampton | #206 | C | C | C− | B+ | C |
| Suffolk | #230 | D | C− | C | C | C+ |
| Portsmouth | #243 | D− | C | D− | D | C− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Newport News grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #227 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C for health, D for safety and C 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 C.
60 notable people were born here, including Ella Fitzgerald and William Styron.
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