Scores by category

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

Safety58#6,525/15,637
Economy22#12,264/15,631
Housing62#5,743/14,977
Health7#14,571/15,609
Healthcare18#12,866/15,650
Environment93#1,088/15,453
Education39#9,490/15,649
Infrastructure16#13,083/15,650
Community81#3,000/15,651
Leisure & amenities1#15,459/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Access to exercise opportunities · high100.0%
100/100Virginia 83.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlleghany County value
Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
94/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlleghany County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Virginia 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAlleghany County value
Social associations · high15.8 /10k
93/100Virginia 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlleghany County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
92/100Virginia 14 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAlleghany County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low112 min
91/100Virginia 164 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAlleghany County value

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low27 /100k
2/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlleghany County value
New business applications · low7.1 /1k
2/100Virginia 15.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauAlleghany County value
Primary care shortage · high19.0
3/100Virginia 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAlleghany County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,621 /100k
3/100Virginia 2,649 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlleghany County value
Grocery stores · low0.7 /10k
4/100Virginia 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlleghany County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Virginia 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlleghany County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
45.8% (2015-2019) → 6.9% (2020-2024)
−39 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
32.0% (2015-2019) → 15.1% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.1% (2015-2019) → 78.5% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
43.9% (2015-2019) → 29.7% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.3% (2015-2019) → 49.0% (2020-2024)
−9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
12.8% (2015-2019) → 21.0% (2020-2024)
+8.2 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, Clifton Forge, Virginia improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved3

Poverty−17 points32.0% → 15.1%
Bachelor's++8.2 points12.8% → 21.0%
Broadband+14 points64.1% → 78.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Clifton Forge, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.9 min2015-2019	22.8 min2020-2024	+0.9 min	Within the margin of error	37%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.8%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Improved	84%
Broadband subscriptions	64.1%2015-2019	78.5%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	78%
Effective property tax rate	0.85%2015-2019	0.83%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	19%
High school diploma or higher	82.7%2015-2019	87.2%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	55%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4992015-2019	0.4762020-2024	−0.023	Within the margin of error	70%
Median household income	$33,5232015-2019	$40,0002020-2024	+19%	Within the margin of error	32%
Poverty rate	32.0%2015-2019	15.1%2020-2024	−17 points	Improved	98%
Rent as share of income	43.9%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	−14 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Rent-burdened households	58.3%2015-2019	49.0%2020-2024	−9.3 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.8%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%

“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 Clifton Forge, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Clifton Forge, 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, Clifton Forge, Virginia itself moved +9.1 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

3,447 residents (±16)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 men (+5.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,447 residents (±16)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

White80%2,773
Black15%528
Hispanic or Latino2.1%†72

Education

2,480 residents (±189)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma13%†318
High school or GED41%1,016
Some college19%†475

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,418 households (±167)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k31%†442
$25k–50k24%†346
$50k–75k17%†236
$75k–100k6.1%†86
$100k–150k14%†199
$150k–200k5.9%†83
$200k or more1.8%†26

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,418 households (±167)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

Own64%901
Rent36%517

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

463 households (±137)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $75063%†294
$750–1,00020%†91
$1,000–1,50013%†

Home values

901 homes (±141)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k72%645
$150k–250k20%†182
$250k–400k6.0%†54

Age of homes

1,854 homes (±166)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–20090.6%†12
1980–19999.7%†180

Size of homes

1,854 homes (±166)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio1.7%†31
1 bedroom17%†309
2 bedrooms22%†406

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,062 workers (±167)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone91%971
Carpool2.8%†30
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home5.7%†61
Other0.0%0

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,001 workers (±151)

Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min43%†426
15–29 min26%†256
30–44 min9.0%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Alleghany County, the county holding most of Clifton Forge's residents.

Alleghany County has 241 employer establishments, 164 for every 10,000 residents (0.66× the US rate of 248; 0.68× Virginia's), with 2,492 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,114. The Census Bureau also counts 733 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 241; 733 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 164; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 2,492
Average annual pay: $45,114; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	25	17	0.81×About typical	210	$67,395	22
Religious organizations	20	13.6	2.45×More than typical	51	$14,843	—
Restaurants and other eating places	17	11.5	0.63×Fewer than typical	285	$18,067	4
Specialty trade contractors	16	10.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	57	$46,667	67
Offices of physicians	15	10.2	1.57×More than typical	113	$77,345	4
Gasoline stations	9	6.1	1.88×Too few to compare	80	$30,650	3
Limited-service restaurants	9	6.1	0.76×Too few to compare	154	$17,260	—
Building equipment contractors	8	5.4	0.90×Too few to compare	22	$53,727	10
Full-service restaurants	8	5.4	0.71×Too few to compare	131	$19,015	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	4.1	0.81×Too few to compare	20	$34,000	12
Other specialty trade contractors	6	4.1	1.62×Too few to compare	33	$41,697	35
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	5	3.4	1.28×Too few to compare	15	$48,733	11

Rank places for an industry Open Alleghany County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,733 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 Clifton Forge, 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

Spending by fiscal year

656.9FY2023
129.7KFY2025

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 Clifton Forge, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Clifton Forge, Virginia's figures are part of those of Alleghany County, VA ($220.7K 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: Clifton Forge is mostly in Alleghany County.

See federal money in Alleghany 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.

Clifton Forge, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Ben ClineR-VA-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.0%

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.

Alleghany County44100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Alleghany 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/5117440