Counties / Virginia / Accomack County

Accomack County, VA

FIPS 51001 · population 33,335 · outside every metro area

$252k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$252k
▲ 0.5% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$977
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,054
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+63.0%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+0.5%FHFA HPI2025+4.0%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$204k
Surveyed gross rent$977
Rent burden 30%+40.8%
Median year built1982
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
34.5%vacant
22,052estimated housing units
Occupied tenure28.6% renter
owner 71.4%renter 28.6%
Structure mix77.0% single-family
Single-family 77.0%20+ units 1.2%Mobile home 18.7%Other 3.2%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs12,938▼ 1.6% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments1,183annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,068▲ 5.5% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing31.6% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−1.6%WEEKLY WAGE+5.5%Manufacturing31.6%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Accomack County presents a cautious rental-acquisition tension. At Zillow's 2026-06 county observation, median home value was $251,772, up 0.49% year over year; FHFA's 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 3.95% annually. Those are different vintages and methods, not one appreciation rate: they warrant a closed-sales direction check. Buyers relying on near-term rent coverage or resale liquidity should be especially cautious.

02Housing economics

County market asking rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed against the Zillow value. HUD's two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not measured asking rent, and cannot fill that gap. The supplied 0.48% effective property-tax rate is a carrying-cost input, but it cannot establish affordability without actual rent. Obtain parcel tax bills, insurance and flood/wind terms, and current leases before testing net cash flow.

03Demand & competition

County workplace evidence adds a demand caution: annual QCEW covered employment declined, and Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy or a resident-employment measure. In Realtor.com's 2026-06 MLS listing market, 334 active listings were up 23.29%, median listing price was down 3.62%, and 20.22% had price reductions. That is visible supply and seller concessions, not closed-sale pricing or buyer demand. Net migration was -45 tax-return households despite a calculated $17,148 incoming-versus-outgoing average-AGI gap. Investor borrowers represented 7.67% of 391 purchase mortgages; this participation does not establish renter demand.

04Risk & next checks

Hurricane is the dominant hazard, and modeled expected annual building-value loss is 0.29%; use it for hazard screening, not a dollar-loss estimate. Sales comps, unit-level market rent and vacancy, insurance quotes, flood-zone/elevation, debt terms, and property condition are not published in this record. Their absence prevents underwriting net cash flow, price-to-rent fit, and exit liquidity. Next checks are current rent comps and leases, parcel-level tax and insurance bills, and recent closed sales plus pending detail.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Accomack County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Chincoteague town3.3KCaptains Cove CDP1.5KWattsville CDP1.4KOnancock town1.4KAccomac town948Parksley town867Pastoria CDP863Belle Haven town*836
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

49 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Chincoteague townIncorporated place
    3,296
  2. 02
    Captains Cove CDPCensus-designated place
    1,542
  3. 03
    Wattsville CDPCensus-designated place
    1,439
  4. 04
    Onancock townIncorporated place
    1,433
  5. 05
    Accomac townIncorporated place
    948
  6. 06
    Parksley townIncorporated place
    867
  7. 07
    Pastoria CDPCensus-designated place
    863
  8. 08
    Belle Haven townIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    836
  9. 09
    Onley townIncorporated place
    678
  10. 10
    Nelsonia CDPCensus-designated place
    608
  11. 11
    Bloxom townIncorporated place
    571
  12. 12
    Gargatha CDPCensus-designated place
    564
Show 37 more places
  1. 13
    Melfa townIncorporated place
    468
  2. 14
    Horntown CDPCensus-designated place
    466
  3. 15
    Metompkin CDPCensus-designated place
    447
  4. 16
    New Church CDPCensus-designated place
    443
  5. 17
    Chase Crossing CDPCensus-designated place
    372
  6. 18
    Atlantic CDPCensus-designated place
    342
  7. 19
    Greenbush CDPCensus-designated place
    337
  8. 20
    Wachapreague townIncorporated place
    306
  9. 21
    Painter townIncorporated place
    305
  10. 22
    Keller townIncorporated place
    288
  11. 23
    Modest Town CDPCensus-designated place
    265
  12. 24
    Tangier townIncorporated place
    252
  13. 25
    Schooner Bay CDPCensus-designated place
    223
  14. 26
    Saxis townIncorporated place
    218
  15. 27
    Cats Bridge CDPCensus-designated place
    200
  16. 28
    Quinby CDPCensus-designated place
    198
  17. 29
    Pungoteague CDPCensus-designated place
    190
  18. 30
    Mappsville CDPCensus-designated place
    186
  19. 31
    Savage Town CDPCensus-designated place
    175
  20. 32
    Hallwood townIncorporated place
    160
  21. 33
    Makemie Park CDPCensus-designated place
    150
  22. 34
    Bobtown CDPCensus-designated place
    141
  23. 35
    Savageville CDPCensus-designated place
    124
  24. 36
    Temperanceville CDPCensus-designated place
    115
  25. 37
    Mappsburg CDPCensus-designated place
    103
  26. 38
    Boston CDPCensus-designated place
    96
  27. 39
    Deep Creek CDPCensus-designated place
    95
  28. 40
    Locust Mount CDPCensus-designated place
    95
  29. 41
    Harborton CDPCensus-designated place
    92
  30. 42
    Greenbackville CDPCensus-designated place
    86
  31. 43
    Oak Hall CDPCensus-designated place
    86
  32. 44
    Southside Chesconessex CDPCensus-designated place
    84
  33. 45
    Lee Mont CDPCensus-designated place
    79
  34. 46
    Whitesville CDPCensus-designated place
    65
  35. 47
    Sanford CDPCensus-designated place
    44
  36. 48
    Tasley CDPCensus-designated place
    23
  37. 49
    Bayside CDPCensus-designated place
    21

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardhurricane

0.295% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.48%

$985 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-45

719 in · 764 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$17,148

$70,106 arriving · $52,958 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors7.7%

30 of 391 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings334▲ 23.3% year over year
Median days on market76▲ 5.6% year over year
Listings price-reduced20.2%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 3.6% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Actual asking rents, vacancy, and lease terms may not support income coverage; none is published.
  2. Property-specific hurricane, flood, wind, insurance, and mitigation exposure may differ materially from the county model.
  3. More MLS supply and price reductions may limit resale liquidity even if index appreciation remains positive.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. County market rent is not published, and the HUD two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard rather than market asking rent.

What do the Realtor.com measures establish?

They establish MLS listing-market conditions: asking price, active visible supply, marketing time, and price reductions. They do not establish closed-sale prices or buyer demand.

What does QCEW employment describe here?

Annual covered jobs at workplaces in Accomack County, not resident employment, unemployment, or a forecast. Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector.