Town · Montgomery County, Virginia

Blacksburg, Virginia

Blacksburg is a town in Montgomery County, Virginia, part of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area. It has 45,446 residents. Blacksburg, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 75 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,894 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #163 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), average commute time (low) and flu vaccinations (high). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), poverty rate (high) and home price to income ratio (high).

75High

Quality-of-life score: #3,894 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #163 of 375 in VA
Population: 45,446 (2020-2024)
Land area: 20 mi²
Density: 2,295.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 5107784

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.

Safety70#4,712/15,637
Economy26#11,517/15,631
Housing13#13,008/14,977
Health67#5,148/15,609
Healthcare67#5,139/15,650
Environment100#40/15,453
Education99#175/15,649
Infrastructure88#1,830/15,650
Community52#7,465/15,651
Leisure & amenities61#6,135/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Blacksburg, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Montgomery 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

Natural hazard risk · low1.7
98/100Virginia 17.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMontgomery County value
Average commute time · low14.9 min
98/100Virginia 27.3 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Flu vaccinations · high57.0%
97/100Virginia 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high69.2%
97/100Virginia 42.2%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Public transit commuters · high6.2%
95/100Virginia 2.3%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Distance to an emergency room · low3.0 mi
92/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMontgomery County value

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.612
0/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Poverty rate · high42.7%
0/100Virginia 9.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Home price to income ratio · high8.9×
3/100Virginia 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMontgomery County value
Rent-burdened households · high63.0%
6/100Virginia 48.5%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
New business applications · low8.7 /1k
12/100Virginia 15.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMontgomery County value

Trends

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

Home price to income ratioWorsening
6.9× (2015-2019) → 8.9× (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedImproving
2.2 /1k (2021) → 2.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+18%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Public transit commutersWorsening
9.7% (2015-2019) → 6.2% (2020-2024)
−3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
40.6% (2015-2019) → 44.1% (2020-2024)
+3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$43,173 (2015-2019) → $50,182 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
71.4% (2015-2019) → 69.2% (2020-2024)
−2.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Blacksburg, Virginia improved on 1 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 12 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.

Improved1

Unemployment−2 points5.1% → 3.1%

Declined2

Price / income+2.0×6.9× → 8.9×
Transit use−3.5 points9.7% → 6.2%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Blacksburg, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.6 min2015-2019	14.8 min2020-2024	+0.2 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	71.4%2015-2019	69.2%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Broadband subscriptions	94.7%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Child poverty rate	12.9%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Effective property tax rate	0.92%2015-2019	0.79%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	95.9%2015-2019	98.0%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Home price to income ratio	6.9×2015-2019	8.9×2020-2024	+2.0×	Declined	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5882015-2019	0.6122020-2024	+0.024	Within the margin of error	31%
Median household income	$43,1732015-2019	$50,1822020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	26%
Poverty rate	43.3%2015-2019	42.7%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Public transit commuters	9.7%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Declined	9%
Rent as share of income	40.6%2015-2019	44.1%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Rent-burdened households	61.7%2015-2019	63.0%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Unemployment rate	5.1%2015-2019	3.1%2020-2024	−2 points	Improved	82%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.9%2015-2019	4.2%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	42%

“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 Blacksburg, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Blacksburg, 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, Blacksburg, Virginia itself moved −2.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

45,446 residents (±61)

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

13,840 households (±575)

Blacksburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k33%4,509
$25k–50k17%2,404
$50k–75k9.1%1,258

Homes

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

Owners and renters

13,840 households (±575)

Blacksburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Own36%4,955
Rent64%8,885

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

19,552 workers (±744)

Blacksburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone51%9,977
Carpool7.0%1,377
Public transit6.2%1,206

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA

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 Montgomery County, the county holding most of Blacksburg's residents.

Montgomery County has 2,016 employer establishments, 204 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Virginia's), with 32,210 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,216. The Census Bureau also counts 6,309 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,016; 6,309 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 204; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 32,210
Average annual pay: $54,216; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	192	19.5	0.93×About typical	2,284	$75,612	267
Restaurants and other eating places	177	18	0.98×About typical	4,232	$19,654	24
Specialty trade contractors	103	10.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	581	$56,067	321
Offices of physicians	90	9.1	1.41×More than typical	1,120	$70,570	52
Lessors of real estate	89	9	0.73×Fewer than typical	427	$56,927	821
Full-service restaurants	80	8.1	1.06×About typical	2,268	$21,904	8
Limited-service restaurants	79	8	1.00×About typical	1,761	$16,500	13
Religious organizations	78	7.9	1.43×More than typical	421	$23,862	—
Construction of buildings	64	6.5	0.86×About typical	789	$63,788	160
Services to buildings and dwellings	62	6.3	0.93×About typical	437	$38,302	296
Automotive repair and maintenance	50	5.1	1.01×About typical	342	$38,930	59
Architectural, engineering and related services	49	5	1.43×More than typical	1,022	$130,464	114

Rank places for an industry Open Montgomery County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 98,606 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 $16.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Blacksburg, Virginia: $368 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $16.7M; −50% vs FY2025
Per resident: $368; US $1,994
Sole-source: 54%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; 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

Department of the Navy$9.3M56%
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration$2.3M13%
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration$1.4M8.4%
Defense Logistics Agency$1.4M8.4%
Federal Railroad Administration$529.6K3.2%
U.S. Coast Guard$496.6K3.0%
Department of the Army$447.4K2.7%
Federal Aviation Administration$290.9K1.7%

Top recipients

VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY$6.9M41%
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY$5.8M35%
MOOG INC.$3M18%
TECHPRIDE, INC.$428.7K2.6%
GRAF RESEARCH CORPORATION$176.8K1.1%

Spending by fiscal year

18.6MFY2017
22.9MFY2018
21.2MFY2019
21.6MFY2020
20.9MFY2021
36.3MFY2022
33.6MFY2023
27.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$7M42%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$4.2M25%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$2.5M15%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$1.8M11%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$496.6K3.0%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Blacksburg, Virginia

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (R&D)- BAA 20-C019 BASE YEAR AWARD TITLED "DEFENSE RESILIENCY PLATFORM AGAINST EXTREME COLD WEATHER" U437A00$17.1M
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY· Montgomery County, VA· Research & development· Feb 1, 2022 – Jan 27, 2026· W913E522C0001
THIS FIRM-FIXED PRICE TASK ORDER IS ISSUED IN SUPPORT OF THE ATTACHED STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE ENTITLED, "DEVELOPMENT OF ON-ROAD DRIVING PERFORMANCE EVALUATION METHODS FOR ADS-EQUIPPED HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLES," IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,399,475.00.$7.4M
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY· Montgomery County, VA· Professional services· Sep 29, 2022 – Nov 6, 2025· 693JJ422F00078N
THE APPLIED RESEARCH DIVISION OF FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (FMCSA) HAS A REQUIREMENT FOR SERVICES NECESSARY TO CONDUCT TWO PILOT PROGRAMS WHICH WILL ASSESS THE SAFETY IMPACTS OF TWO EXEMPTIONS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE DRIVERS WITH MORE F$4.5M
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY

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 Blacksburg, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Blacksburg, Virginia's figures are part of those of Montgomery County, VA ($52.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 32% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Blacksburg is mostly in Montgomery County.

See federal money in Montgomery 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.

Blacksburg, 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.

Montgomery County85100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA75

Other cities and towns in Montgomery 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/5107784

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends