Hampton Roads Alliance presents updated demographic profile for Poquoson to council

Michael Evans, director of business intelligence at the Hampton Roads Alliance, presented the alliance’s 2024 locality profile for Poquoson City to the Poquoson City Council at its regular meeting.

Evans told council that Poquoson’s population was stable but growing, that median incomes rose about 5.6% from 2022 to 2023 — “outpacing the rate of inflation,” he said — and that the city’s poverty rate was roughly 5.8%, about half the regional average of 10.4%. He said Poquoson’s educational attainment outperforms many Hampton Roads localities, though it still trails the statewide bachelor’s-degree rate of about 41%.

The nut graf: Evans framed the briefing as both a snapshot of local conditions and a demonstration of services the alliance makes available to municipal partners. He said the alliance gives member localities access to research tools, data services and real-estate market analysis that can be used for business attraction, retention and planning.

In his overview of employment and housing, Evans said education and social services account for nearly a quarter of local employment — a pattern he attributed largely to public-school employment — and that employment figures have been relatively stable with a small shift toward public-sector jobs. On housing, he said median home values were relatively stable but had a slight decrease that may reflect increased housing supply. He reported that homeownership in Poquoson is comparatively high and that fewer than a third of homeowners meet a common definition of housing cost burden (paying more than 30% of income on housing). By contrast, he said roughly two-thirds of renters in the city spend more than 30% of income on housing costs.

Evans described services available to Poquoson through the alliance partnership: custom workforce and demographic reporting, market feasibility studies, economic-impact modeling, lease-expiration tracking, tenant and company contact data, and a regional Salesforce customer-relationship management platform. He said partner localities receive an annual package of software and services valued at roughly $50,000 for a per-capita contribution by the locality.

Council members thanked Evans for the briefing and the comparative perspective the alliance data provides. City Manager Wheeler and several councilors indicated the city would consider leveraging the alliance’s data services for planning and business outreach.

Ending: Evans offered to add council members to the alliance’s distribution lists for recurring products (monthly DoD spending reports, quarterly economic indicators, lease-expiration lists) and invited them to contact him for follow-up or customized analysis.