Town · Smyth County, Virginia

Chilhowie, Virginia

Chilhowie is a town in Smyth County, Virginia. It has 2,428 residents. Chilhowie, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 37 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,822 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #309 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), pharmacies (high) and students per teacher (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), life expectancy (low) and premature death (high).

37Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,822 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #309 of 375 in VA
Population: 2,428 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 958.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 5116480

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.

Safety31#10,711/15,637
Economy36#9,968/15,631
Housing59#6,116/14,977
Health11#13,833/15,609
Healthcare27#11,415/15,650
Environment100#64/15,453
Education75#3,924/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,194/15,650
Community42#9,110/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,678/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Hot days · low0 days
98/100Virginia 20 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSmyth County value
Pharmacies · high3.5 /10k
98/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSmyth County value
Students per teacher · low11.1×
93/100Virginia 13.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSmyth County value
Unemployment rate · low1.7%
86/100Virginia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Virginia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSmyth County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.4 µg/m³
85/100Virginia 7.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySmyth County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-4.3%
3/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSmyth County value
Life expectancy · low70.9 yrs
4/100Virginia 77.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSmyth County value
Premature death · high13,855 /100k
6/100Virginia 7,587 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSmyth County value
Injury deaths · high136 /100k
7/100Virginia 78 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSmyth County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.7 /10k
8/100Virginia 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSmyth County value
Distance to an airport · high103 mi
9/100Virginia 32 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSmyth County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,101 (2015-2019) → 2,428 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.8% (2015-2019) → 89.2% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.7% (2015-2019) → 45.4% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
16.2% (2015-2019) → 10.9% (2020-2024)
−5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
20.8% (2015-2019) → 25.4% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeImproving
22.9 min (2015-2019) → 18.8 min (2020-2024)
−18%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Chilhowie, Virginia improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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

Broadband+20 points68.8% → 89.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Chilhowie, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.9 min2015-2019	18.8 min2020-2024	−4.1 min	Within the margin of error	86%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.0%2015-2019	24.3%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Broadband subscriptions	68.8%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	91%
Child poverty rate	17.9%2015-2019	19.8%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Effective property tax rate	0.75%2015-2019	0.61%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%
High school diploma or higher	86.1%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	85%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4062015-2019	0.4022020-2024	−0.005	Within the margin of error	55%
Median household income	$46,9642015-2019	$51,4292020-2024	+9.5%	Within the margin of error	16%
Poverty rate	12.7%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Rent as share of income	20.8%2015-2019	25.4%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent-burdened households	34.7%2015-2019	45.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.2%2015-2019	10.9%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	87%

“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 Chilhowie, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chilhowie, 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, Chilhowie, Virginia itself moved +0.1 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

2,428 residents (±454)

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

880 households (±161)

Chilhowie, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k18%†159
$25k–50k30%†265
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

880 households (±161)

Chilhowie, Virginia
Virginia share

Own67%587
Rent33%†293

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

946 workers (±221)

Chilhowie, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone75%713
Carpool17%†157
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 Smyth County, the county holding most of Chilhowie's residents.

Smyth County has 499 employer establishments, 171 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.71× Virginia's), with 8,169 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,692. The Census Bureau also counts 1,545 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 499; 1,545 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 171; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 8,169
Average annual pay: $47,692; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	48	16.5	0.90×About typical	606	$18,800	6
Ambulatory health care services	38	13	0.63×Fewer than typical	361	$58,634	63
Religious organizations	30	10.3	1.85×More than typical	117	$15,923	—
Limited-service restaurants	23	7.9	0.98×About typical	369	$18,016	—
Full-service restaurants	22	7.5	0.98×About typical	229	$20,052	—
Specialty trade contractors	22	7.5	0.49×Fewer than typical	132	$50,242	147
Automotive repair and maintenance	16	5.5	1.09×About typical	45	$41,400	48
Offices of physicians	16	5.5	0.85×About typical	185	$61,595	13
Gasoline stations	15	5.1	1.59×More than typical	104	$26,000	—
Construction of buildings	14	4.8	0.63×Fewer than typical	166	$58,861	68
Banks and credit unions	13	4.5	1.38×More than typical	122	$56,893	—
Truck transportation	13	4.5	0.88×About typical	128	$58,547	19

Rank places for an industry Open Smyth County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 29,166 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chilhowie, Virginia: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

WALLS, JAMES$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.3KFY2017
488.9FY2018
1.3KFY2019
98.4FY2020
59.9FY2021
7.7KFY2022
10.9KFY2023
215FY2024
120.3

What was bought

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

Chilhowie, Virginia's figures are part of those of Smyth County, VA ($7.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Smyth 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.

Chilhowie, 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.

Smyth County43100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Smyth 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/5116480

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends