Several demographic changes are affecting the city of Portsmouth. The city's aging population and increasing proportion of empty-nesters are not unique to Portsmouth, nor is the city's decline in single-family households. Since World War II, fewer births have led to a decline in the population. As a result, conventional nuclear families are expected to make up a smaller share of total households and housing options will have to be more flexible.
While Portsmouth is home to a large number of aging residents, the majority of the population is under the age of 18. In 1970, 35.6% of Portsmouth residents were under the age of 18; by 1990, that number had fallen to 26.8%. By 2013, this number had fallen to 23.6% - the lowest rate of any city in Virginia. But the demographics in Portsmouth aren't necessarily bleak.
In the early 16th century, the population was around 2,500 people. By the early 17th century, Portsmouth was described as a beggarly, poor town. Then, in 1625, the town suffered a plague, which severely depressed the population. The plague had a significant impact on the city's economy, and Charles I, the monarch at the time, slashed the town's population and destroyed its port.
Since the 1950s, the birth rate in Portsmouth City has been lower than the growth rate of the metropolitan area. However, Portsmouth's population growth is slower than Virginia's overall rate. Portsmouth attracts a large number of young adults who are in the prime child-bearing years. As children grow older, however, the parents of these young people leave the city. The same pattern applies to Richmond and Arlington.