Geography:
Land .. ................................... 258.7 square miles (670 km 2 )
Water ..................................... . 51.3 square miles (122 km 2 )
Average elevation ………...12 feet (4 meters) above sea level

Population:
Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the Commonwealth and the 38th largest in the United States. Virginia Beach’s population was 425,257 in 2000. Virginia Beach is part of the Norfolk / Virginia Beach-Newport / News VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

Income (2001 Estimated Household):

  Virginia Beach MSA
Median Household Income $49,525 $41,915
$100,000+ 11% 8%
$75,000 - $99,999 12% 10%
$60,000 - $74,999 13% 11%
$50,000 - $59,999 12% 11%
$35,000 - $49,999 21% 19%
$25,000 - $34,999 14% 15%
$15,000 - $24,999 10% 13%
Under $14,999 6% 13%

Government:
Council-Manager Government: *Eleven-member council, seven seats filled by individuals who reside in the seven respective districts of the city. No district residency requirement for the remaining four seats. The Mayor is elected by voters and occupies one of the “at large” seats.

*All eleven members are elected by popular vote.

Police Department:
4 Precincts and 1 Police Substation - 777 Sworn Officers - 162 Support Personnel - 20 Auxiliary Officers - According to FBI statistics, Virginia Beach is the safest city of its size in the United States.

Fire Department:
18 Stations - 363 Uniformed Firefighters - 80 Volunteer Firefighters - 23 Civilian Employees

Emergency Medical Services:
Rescue (All Volunteer): 10 Squads - 33 Dive Team Members - 70 Admin Members - 70 First Responders - 327 EMTs - 67 Shock Trauma Techs - 22 Cardiac Techs - 130 Paramedics

Climate:
Average annual temperature is 60° F. Rainfall totaled 55 inches during 1999. Average annual rainfall is 45 inches. No measurable snow fell in 1999. Average annual snowfall is 7.4 inches.

Average 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. Temperatures

Month Air Water Month Air Water
January 40 47 July 79 73
February 42 48 August 78 76
March 49 48 September 72 72
April 58 48 October 62 67
May 66 58 November 52 60
June 75 67 December 44 53

“The geographic location of the city, with respect to the principal storm tracks, is especially favorable, being south of the average path of storms originating in the higher latitudes, and north of the usual tracks of hurricanes and other major tropical storms.”

Source: National Climatic Data Center, Local Climate Annual Summary Report – 1999