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The overall cost of living in Yorktown, Virginia is lower than the national average by 13%. The average monthly expenses for a single person can range around $2,190 and $4,764 for a family of four. Please take into consideration increasing cost of utilities such as electric, gas and water.
Social Media
Follow Naval Weapons Station Yorktown on Twitter and Facebook for updates on events, stories, and photos from around the base. If you would like something posted or announced, contact the NWSY Public Affairs Office at 757-887-4939.
Gate 3
Located off Jefferson Avenue, this is the main access gate to Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. It's open 24/7.
Gate 1
Gate 1, located off Yorktown Road, is fully automated. It's open in-bound and out-bound from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and requires a valid CAC card.
Cell Phones/Texting
As of January 1, 2021, Virginia law prohibits drivers from holding a handheld personal communications device while operating a moving vehicle:
Drivers may use hands-free technology and may handle devices only when the vehicle is lawfully parked or stopped. Emergency calls are exempt.
On the installation, however, the use of cell phones while driving-including hands-free devices-is strictly prohibited.
There is currently a lengthy wait list for child care centers in the Hampton Roads area. Families in need of immediate care should consider family home care options in military housing or explore civilian childcare providers. For assistance, contact your Yorktown Child Development Center at 757-887-4733.
Defense Service Network Dialing Instructions
The DSN provides long-distance communications service for the Defense Department. Each installation has a unique DSN number, which varies by world-wide location. To place a call using DSN, the caller must be on a military phone on an installation. Cell phones cannot be used to dial DSN numbers.
Mission
To provide responsive, quality support for explosive ordnance storage, maintenance, logistics, research and development, and support services; expeditionary logistics training and operations; warfare training for Marines, sailors and other services; and to serve as a premier recreational destination for service members and their families.
Vision
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is a premier Receipt, Storage, Segregation and Issue Ordnance Facility supporting the Atlantic Fleet and Joint Commands by facilitating ordnance management, research development, expeditionary warfare training, and industrial and inert storage while maintaining quality of life services and sustaining a unique natural, cultural and historic environment.
The site of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown was acquired for the Navy by a presidential proclamation on August 7, 1918, and was at the time the largest naval installation in the world; its land area covering about 20 square miles. Given the country’s ordnance needs once the U.S. entered World War I, the initial mission of the installation was to support the Allied underwater mine barrage in the North Sea, however, when the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, the station’s mission quickly evolved to receipt and storage of returned mines and provision of ordnance support for the peacetime Navy. For more information, please visit Yorktown's homepage.
The correct link for Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is Naval Weapons Station Yorktown (navy.mil).
Military bases in close proximity to the Weapons station are Joint Bases Langley-Eustis, Naval Station Norfolk, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Naval Air Station Oceana, Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Together, they support approximately 87,787 joint force military personnel with an estimated 120,000 family members, over 58,525 retirees and 46,695 DOW personnel and civilian employees.
The Historic Triangle is a region in the Virginia Peninsula formed by the three historically significant colonial sites of Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown. Together, these locations provide a comprehensive experience of early American history covering the nation's beginnings, the colonial era and the Revolutionary War. The Naval Weapons Station and the Yorktown village are located in the Virginia Coastal Plain on the peninsula formed by the James and York Rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. It's part of the Hampton Roads region and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News VA NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. This area has been dubbed the Historic Triangle because of its unique role in the founding of our nation. The western point of the triangle, Jamestown, located in James City County, was founded by the first settlers in 1607 and is the site of the first permanent English settlement and the first colonial government in America. Williamsburg, the northern point, served as Virginia’s colonial capital during most of America’s struggle for independence. The eastern point, Yorktown, where independence was won, is located in York County and is the site of the final major battle of the American Revolutionary War.
With 207 square miles, the Historic Triangle occupies slightly over half the total land area (53%) of the Virginia Peninsula, which also includes lower York County and the cities of Newport News, Hampton and Poquoson. According to the 2010 Census, the Historic Triangle is home to slightly more than 94,000 people. The population has grown by about a third (34%) since 2000. Over three quarters of this growth - 79% - took place in James City County, which now accounts for 71% of the Historic Triangle’s population; Williamsburg and upper York County/Yorktown account for 15% and 14% of the population respectively. The area’s population grew by 34.4% between 2000 and 2010 - 39.3% in James City County, 17.3% in Williamsburg and 31.2% in York County (upper York/Yorktown). By comparison, the state of Virginia grew by 13.0% between 2000 and 2010.
Military bases in close proximity to the Weapons station are Naval Station Norfolk, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Naval Air Station Oceana, Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Together, they support approximately 87,787 joint force military personnel with an additional 120,000 family members, over 58,525 retirees and 48,695 DOW personnel and civilian employees. Also, in close proximity to the Weapons Station are Joint Bases Langley-Eustis and the Coast Guard Training Center at Yorktown.
The Weapons Station is located at the northern end of what is known as the Virginia Peninsula, bordered by the York River, Colonial National Historic Park, York County, City of Newport News and James City County. Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is one of the Navy's major East Coast ordnance facilities. Yorktown is considered to be a military town with the cost of living being slightly higher than average. The base operator's phone number is 757-887-4000, DSN 312-953-4000.
Peninsula's attractions include Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia Air & Space Center, Riverside 3D IMAX Theater, Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. For more information on what there is to see and do, please visit the tourism website.
Hampton Roads has two major airports:
Personnel flying into Hampton Roads should make prior arrangements with their sponsor for transportation from the airport to their command. If no prior arrangements have been made, personnel flying into the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport should check with either the USO or the Airport Information Booth for transportation options. USO staff can aid the service member with contacting his or her command for assistance. The Airport Information Booth will have taxi and shuttle service information. Taxi and shuttle services are available to and from Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. Taxi fees range between $40 to $50 one way and shuttle fees are as low as $30 one way.
USO can be reached by calling 757-233-0567. Hours of operation are open daily from 9 a.m. to midnight.
The Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport Information Booth can be reached by calling 757-877-0221 Ext 255. Hours vary with staffing.
Should you arrive on a weekend, report to Combined Bachelor Quarters Nelson House, Building 704 (located inside Gate 3) then to the command on the next working day with your transfer package for in processing.
Access to Gate 3 from Richmond
Follow Interstate 64 East until Exit 247. At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn left onto Route 143 (Jefferson Avenue). Travel to the first stop light then turn left for access to Gate 3.
Access to Gate 3 when arriving from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
If arriving at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, turn right onto Route 143 (Jefferson Avenue) and continue for approximately six miles. Cross over Yorktown Road and continue for approximately three quarters of a mile. Turn right onto Longfellow Road which leads into Gate 3.
Access to Gate 3 from Norfolk
Follow Interstate 64 West until Exit 247. At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn right onto Yorktown Road. Turn left at the first light on to Route 143 (Jefferson Avenue). Continue on Jefferson Avenue for three quarters of a mile. Turn right onto Longfellow Road, which leads into Gate 3.
Note: If reporting to a tenant command on-board NWSY, proceed straight to Gate 3 and ask the security personnel there to assist you with directions to your new command.
Currently, there is no base transportation available on this installation.
Commercial 757-887-4000 or DSN 312-953-4000