Population
243 residents
Census ACS 2023 - Virginia
City profile · Virginia · Census ACS 2023
Modest, VA
Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Modest - drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.
- 243
- Residents
- $101,875
- Median income
- $1,054
- Median rent (state)
Modest - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Modest lands in the 79th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
- 79th
- percentile, household income
- 25th
- percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Modest, VA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 243 residents in Modest, a small town within Virginia. The typical household in Modest brings in $101,875 a year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. The median resident age is 41.3 years. Educational attainment runs 5.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 68.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Virginia tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Virginia at 101.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,054 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Virginia run around $235, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 81.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
Median Household Income
$101,875 /yr
Poverty 0.0%
Cost of Living Index (state)
101.1 (US=100)
Near Average - BEA RPP 2024, Virginia average
How does Modest compare to other US cities?
Modest measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income 79% higher than other cities
Median rent 25% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Modest against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Virginia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Virginia-relative analysis
Poverty Rate places Modest near the bottom of Virginia's cities
Among the 616 Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported poverty rate data, Modest ranks #487 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Modest only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#163 of 558
71st percentile in Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#384 of 619
32nd percentile in Virginia
Poverty Rate
#487 of 616
0th percentile in Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#569 of 618
8th percentile in Virginia
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Virginia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
79th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 5.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL) 0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+) 68.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
243
Median Income
$101,875
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
41.3
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
68.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
5.4%
Commute Patterns
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
57.1%
Carpool
20.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
22.6%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 84 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
State-average estimates for Virginia - EIA 2023 residential energy data
Electricity
$115
avg/month
Natural Gas
$70
avg/month
Water & Sewer
$50
avg/month
Total Utilities
$235
estimated/month
Estimates reflect Virginia state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Cost of living is a Virginia state average from BEA; rent and hazard risk are county-level figures from HUD and FEMA for the county Modest sits in
Cost of Living Index
101.1
Near Average
US average = 100 · BEA RPP 2024
Typical 2-BR Rent
$1,054/mo
HUD Fair Market Rent
County-level FMR estimate
Natural Hazard Risk
81.0 / 100
High
FEMA NRI composite score (county)
Similar Cities in Virginia
Cities of a Similar Size Nationwide
Population-matched peers from other states, closest to Modest's 243 residents (Census ACS 5-Year 2023).
Cities with a Similar Household Income Nationwide
Median-household-income-matched peers from other states, closest to Modest's $101,875 (Census ACS 5-Year 2023, table B19013).
Race & Ethnicity Composition
City-level race and ethnicity, Census ACS 5-year 2023 (tables B02001, B03001), OMB Directive 15 categories.
How Modest compares to nearby Virginia cities
Population + median household income, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).
Census ACS 5-year FIPS VA OMB Bulletin 23-01
What do people ask about Modest, VA?
What is the population of Modest, VA? +
Modest, VA has a population of 243 according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.
What is the median household income in Modest, VA? +
In Modest, the typical household earns $101,875 per year, based on Census ACS 2023 data.
What is the cost of living in Modest? +
BEA does not publish a city-level cost-of-living figure for Modest; the closest available measure is the Virginia state average, a cost of living index of 101.1 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Near Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data. Costs within Virginia vary by metro area.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.
Citation & verification links
Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCitiesEvery figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.