Wakefield is an

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United States An incorporated town o ...

in Sussex County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 729. Wakefield is widely known for the Virginia Diner, the Airfield Conference and 4-H Educational Center, and the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

Weather Forecast Office for Eastern Virginia, which issues weather alerts for the region, though the latter two are actually located outside the town limits. Wakefield also hosts the Virginia

Shad Planking The Shad Planking is an annual political event in Virginia which takes place every April near Wakefield in Sussex County. It is sponsored by a chapter of the Ruritans, a community service organization which was founded in the small town of Holla ...

Geography

Wakefield is located at (36.970219, −76.988461). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²), of which 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²) (3.10%) is water.

Climate

History

Wakefield appears on the Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia first published in 1752.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 Census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 927 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the town was 50.6% Black, 46.1% White, 0.3% Native American, 1.5% Asian and 0.6% from two or more races. 0.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,038 people, 423 households, and 285 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 833.2 people per square mile (320.6/km²). There were 485 housing units at an average density of 389.3 per square mile (149.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 47.50%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 51.25%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.19% Native American, and 1.06% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.39% of the population. There were 423 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% 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 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 79.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,500, and the median income for a family was $34,539. Males had a median income of $26,429 versus $21,595 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $15,290. About 9.9% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Sussex County, Virginia Towns in Virginia