Town · Wise County, Virginia

Big Stone Gap, Virginia

Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia. It has 5,162 residents. Big Stone Gap, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,102 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #341 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on reading scores (high), hot days (low) and math scores (high). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and life expectancy (low).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,102 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #341 of 375 in VA
Population: 5,162 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,075.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 5107480

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety41#9,297/15,637
Economy14#13,461/15,631
Housing75#3,693/14,977
Health6#14,747/15,609
Healthcare22#12,211/15,650
Environment84#2,449/15,453
Education80#3,109/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,565/15,650
Community21#12,351/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,789/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Big Stone Gap, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Wise 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

Reading scores · high3.55
99/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWise County value
Hot days · low0 days
99/100Virginia 20 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWise County value
Math scores · high3.57
98/100Virginia 3.27United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWise County value
Pharmacies · high3.2 /10k
97/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWise County value
Grocery stores · high2.9 /10k
93/100Virginia 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWise County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.350
90/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high4,663 /100k
3/100Virginia 2,649 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWise County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.1 /10k
4/100Virginia 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWise County value
Life expectancy · low71.1 yrs
5/100Virginia 77.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWise County value
Adult obesity · high44.4%
6/100Virginia 38.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
New business applications · low8.0 /1k
7/100Virginia 15.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWise County value
Dentists · low26 /100k
8/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWise County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
46.6% (2015-2019) → 31.6% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
27.9% (2015-2019) → 37.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
27.6% (2015-2019) → 19.2% (2020-2024)
−8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
13.4% (2015-2019) → 5.8% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.4% (2015-2019) → 85.8% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.499 (2015-2019) → 0.350 (2020-2024)
−30%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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.

Over about five years, Big Stone Gap, Virginia improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Inequality−0.1490.499 → 0.350
Uninsured−7.6 points13.4% → 5.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Big Stone Gap, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.1 min2015-2019	18.7 min2020-2024	−5.4 min	Within the margin of error	91%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.4%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	79.4%2015-2019	85.8%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Child poverty rate	27.9%2015-2019	37.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	75.6%2015-2019	80.9%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	61%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4992015-2019	0.3502020-2024	−0.149	Improved	99%
Median household income	$46,9792015-2019	$54,5812020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	26%
Poverty rate	21.3%2015-2019	26.2%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.6%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	−8.4 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent-burdened households	46.6%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	−15 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.4%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−7.6 points	Improved	93%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Big Stone Gap, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Big Stone Gap, 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.

For comparison, Big Stone Gap, Virginia itself moved +15.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

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).

Age and sex

5,162 residents (±24)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,562 households (±191)

Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k18%†281
$25k–50k19%†296
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,562 households (±191)

Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Virginia share

Own63%989
Rent37%†573

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,423 workers (±257)

Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone75%1,072
Carpool10.0%†142
Public transit0.0%0

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.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Wise County, the county holding most of Big Stone Gap's residents.

Wise County has 607 employer establishments, 172 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.71× Virginia's), with 7,407 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,189. The Census Bureau also counts 1,587 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 607; 1,587 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 172; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 7,407
Average annual pay: $37,189; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Wise County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	55	15.6	0.85×About typical	980	$17,409	9
Ambulatory health care services	48	13.6	0.65×Fewer than typical	585	$49,497	45
Gasoline stations	29	8.2	2.54×More than typical	301	$24,468	—
Religious organizations	29	8.2	1.49×More than typical	79	$13,380	—
Specialty trade contractors	28	8	0.51×Fewer than typical	178	$42,292	86
Automotive repair and maintenance	27	7.7	1.52×More than typical	84	$44,000	39
Limited-service restaurants	26	7.4	0.92×About typical	644	$16,890	3
Full-service restaurants	25	7.1	0.92×About typical	320	$18,406	4
Truck transportation	21	6	1.18×About typical	169	$46,166	35
Building equipment contractors	18	5.1	0.85×About typical	127	$36,409	17
Offices of physicians	17	4.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	157	$68,809	10
Legal services	16	4.5	0.85×About typical	54	$44,241	19

Rank places for an industry Open Wise County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 35,194 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $164.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Big Stone Gap, Virginia: $31.79 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $164.1K; +316% vs FY2025
Per resident: $31.79; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.7%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$161.3K98%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$2,7701.7%

Top recipients

SEVEN CORNERS INC$161.3K98%
M. R. RAMAKRISHNAN, M.D., P.C.$2,7701.7%

Spending by fiscal year

5.8KFY2017
15KFY2018
111.4KFY2019
995.8FY2020
3.2KFY2021
55.1KFY2022
356.9FY2023
2.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

General medical and surgical hospitals · 6221$161.3K98%
Offices of physicians · 6211$2,7701.7%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Big Stone Gap, Virginia's figures are part of those of Wise County, VA ($2.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 6.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Big Stone Gap is mostly in Wise County.

See federal money in Wise County

Representation 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.

Big Stone Gap, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

H. Morgan GriffithR-VA-9 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Wise County38100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Wise County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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

JSON · /api/v1/places/5107480

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends