Census-designated place · Shenandoah County, Virginia
Basye, Virginia
Basye is a census-designated place in Shenandoah County, Virginia. It has 1,481 residents. Basye, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 56 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,911 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #241 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), child care cost burden (low) and homicide rate (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), gyms and fitness centers (low) and job growth (low).
- Quality-of-life score
- #6,911 of 15,651 cities and towns
- Virginia
- #241 of 375 in VA
- Population
- 1,481 (2020-2024)
- Land area
- 9 mi²
- Density
- 170.1 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 5104920
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.
- Safety71#4,533/15,637
- Economy69#4,822/15,631
- Housing50#7,557/14,977
- Health55#7,022/15,609
- Healthcare18#12,763/15,650
- Environment53#7,315/15,453
- Education71#4,504/15,649
- Infrastructure58#6,511/15,650
- Community69#4,861/15,651
- Leisure & amenities9#14,237/15,651
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Basye, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Shenandoah County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.
Strengths
- Unemployment rate · low0.0%
- Child care cost burden · low19.2%96/100Virginia 24.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShenandoah County value
- Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k94/100Virginia 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataShenandoah County value
- Social associations · high14.1 /10k88/100Virginia 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShenandoah County value
- Public EV charging ports · high12.2 /10k87/100Virginia 6.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyShenandoah County value
- Public libraries · high1.3 /10k83/100Virginia 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesShenandoah County value
Weaknesses
- Drought exposure · high92%6/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAShenandoah County value
- Gyms and fitness centers · low0.2 /10k9/100Virginia 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsShenandoah County value
- Job growth · low-2.5%9/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataShenandoah County value
- Arts, entertainment and recreation · low2.0 /10k10/100Virginia 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsShenandoah County value
- Mental health providers · low79 /100k11/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShenandoah County value
- Dentists · low31 /100k12/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShenandoah County value
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- PopulationRising
953 (2015-2019) → 1,481 (2020-2024)
+55%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
- Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 22.5% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.6% (2015-2019) → 94.6% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Rent as share of incomeWorsening
31.0% (2015-2019) → 44.8% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
- Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
62.3% (2015-2019) → 72.5% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
- Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.7× (2015-2019) → 4.0× (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
Cities and towns like Basye, Virginia five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Basye, Virginia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Local businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contracts performed here
Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Basye is mostly in Shenandoah County.
See federal money in Shenandoah CountyRepresentation in Congress
Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.
County
A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.
Other cities and towns in Shenandoah County
Largest first.
Similar cities and towns
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Raintree Plantation, MO42Alike on Median age, Homeownership, High school+
- Grandy, NC68Alike on Broadband, Median age, Income per capita
- Belmont Estates, VA63Alike on Inequality, Property tax, Homeownership
- Chapel Hill, TN22Alike on Homeownership, Price / income, Population
- Lake Ketchum, WA63Alike on Property tax, Work from home, High school+
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement