According to latest demographics of Norfolk, obtained from Census 2000, there were 234,403 people residing in Norfolk. The population density was 1684.4/ km² (4,362.8/mi²). There were 94,416 housing units at an average density of 678.5/km² (1,757.3/mi²).

The racial makeup of the city was:

            - 48.36% White
            - 44.11% African American
            - 0.46% Native American
            - 2.81% Asian,
            - 0.11% Pacific Islander
            - 1.67% from other races
            - 2.48% from two or more races (Hispanic and Latino of any race were               3.80% of the population.

There were 86,210 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 36.9% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 39.8% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.07.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,815 per year, and median income for a family was $36,891 per year. About 15.5% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line; including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those are age 65 or over.

Transportation

Transportation in Norfolk is linked with its neighbors through an extensive network of arterial and Interstate highways, bridges, tunnels and bridge tunnel complexes. A notable example of the bridge tunnel is the Hampton Road Bridge-Tunnel which enters Norfolk and Willoughby Spit. The major east-west routes are Interstate 64, U.S. Route 58 and U.S. Route 460. The major north south routes are U.S. Route 13 and U.S Route 17.