Census-designated place · Prince Edward County, Virginia

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia

Hampden-Sydney is a census-designated place in Prince Edward County, Virginia. It has 1,769 residents. Hampden-Sydney, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 56 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,944 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #242 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), poverty rate (low) and broadband subscriptions (high). It ranks worst on voter turnout (low), primary care shortage (high) and drought exposure (high).

56Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,944 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #242 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,769 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 456.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 5134304

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety25#11,805/15,637
Economy80#3,129/15,631
Housing—
Health28#11,204/15,609
Healthcare49#7,907/15,650
Environment93#1,152/15,453
Education65#5,493/15,649
Infrastructure72#4,320/15,650
Community25#11,684/15,651
Leisure & amenities39#9,506/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hampden-Sydney, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Prince Edward 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

Home price to income ratio · low1.0×
100/100Virginia 4.1×United States 4.1×2018-2022U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077High uncertainty
Poverty rate · low0.0%
99/100Virginia 9.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Broadband subscriptions · high100.0%
99/100Virginia 91.0%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Job growth · high3.9%
97/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataPrince Edward County value
Pharmacies · high2.7 /10k
92/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPrince Edward County value
Median Air Quality Index · low33
91/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPrince Edward County value

Weaknesses

Voter turnout · low51.9%
6/100Virginia 70.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionPrince Edward County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Virginia 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPrince Edward County value
Drought exposure · high83%
10/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAPrince Edward County value
Reading scores · low2.72
10/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePrince Edward County value
Average weekly wage · low$980
15/100Virginia $1,540United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPrince Edward County value
Adult obesity · high41.0%
17/100Virginia 38.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+100 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
80.6% (2015-2019) → 40.8% (2020-2024)
−40 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.2% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$95,341 (2015-2019) → $154,565 (2020-2024)
+62%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeWorsening
9.4 min (2015-2019) → 14.5 min (2019-2023)
+54%4 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.6 min
Home price to income ratioImproving
1.8× (2015-2019) → 1.1× (2018-2022)
−43%3 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 3.8×

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, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia improved on 1 of 5 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 3 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+22 points78.2% → 100.0%

Declined1

Bachelor's+−40 points80.6% → 40.8%

All 5 measures

Change of every measure of Hampden-Sydney, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	80.6%2015-2019	40.8%2020-2024	−40 points	Declined	0%
Broadband subscriptions	78.2%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4292015-2019	0.3152020-2024	−0.115	Within the margin of error	97%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 6681 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 Hampden-Sydney, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hampden-Sydney, 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.

No place that looked like Hampden-Sydney, Virginia five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia itself moved +29.7 points in standing on average over the same 3 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

1,769 residents (±265)

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: 40–49 women (−3.2 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

1,769 residents (±265)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

White74%1,301
Black14%†245
Hispanic or Latino5.9%†105

Education

284 residents (±154)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma0.0%0
High school or GED21%†60
Some college32%†90

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

162 households (±98)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k0.0%0
$25k–50k27%†43
$50k–75k0.0%0
$75k–100k0.0%0
$100k–150k0.0%0
$150k–200k43%†70
$200k or more30%†49

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $75k–100k (−32.3 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 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

162 households (±98)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

Own94%†153
Rent5.6%†9

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+30.5 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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

9 households (±15)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,000100%†9
$1,000–1,5000.0%0

Home values

153 homes (±99)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k41%†62
$150k–250k10%†16
$250k–400k17%†26

Age of homes

247 homes (±132)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–20093.2%†8
1980–199937%†92

Size of homes

247 homes (±132)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms3.6%†9

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

328 workers (±162)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone52%†169
Carpool5.8%†19
Public transit0.0%0
Walk18%†58
Bike1.2%†4
Work from home24%†78
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Walk (−33.6 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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

250 workers (±135)

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min44%†110
15–29 min46%†114
30–44 min0.0%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 Prince Edward County, the county holding most of Hampden-Sydney's residents.

Prince Edward County has 496 employer establishments, 225 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Virginia's), with 6,986 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,014. The Census Bureau also counts 1,164 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 496; 1,164 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 225; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 6,986
Average annual pay: $41,014; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	48	21.8	1.05×About typical	929	$63,653	43
Restaurants and other eating places	35	15.9	0.87×About typical	787	$19,367	6
Specialty trade contractors	27	12.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	189	$49,497	100
Religious organizations	24	10.9	1.96×More than typical	65	$15,785	—
Lessors of real estate	21	9.5	0.77×Fewer than typical	48	$31,396	120
Full-service restaurants	19	8.6	1.12×About typical	460	$21,115	—
Construction of buildings	15	6.8	0.90×About typical	29	$26,897	41
Limited-service restaurants	14	6.4	0.79×Fewer than typical	295	$16,705	—
Offices of physicians	13	5.9	0.91×About typical	127	$114,677	5
Banks and credit unions	12	5.4	1.69×More than typical	65	$49,631	—
Gasoline stations	12	5.4	1.68×More than typical	81	$25,765	—
Building equipment contractors	11	5	0.83×About typical	105	$56,305	18

Rank places for an industry Open Prince Edward County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 22,022 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 $190K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia: $107 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $190K; −23% vs FY2025
Per resident: $107; US $1,995
Sole-source: 22%; US 30%
Single offer: 9.4%; 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

C W WORLDWIDE MEETINGS INC$85.7K45%
FARMVILLE WHOLESALE ELECTRIC SUPPLY CO INC$62.4K33%
HCI MANAGEMENT SERVICES COMPANY$41.8K22%
TEXTAINER EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT (U.S.) LIMITED$53.860.0%

Spending by fiscal year

15.8KFY2017
15.3KFY2018
30.8KFY2019
324KFY2020
187KFY2021
430.7KFY2022
279.1KFY2023
172.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Travel arrangement and reservation services · 5615$85.7K45%
Facilities support services · 5612$41.8K22%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$40K21%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$6,8583.6%
Printing and related support activities · 3231$5,3732.8%
Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment manufacturing · 3334$2,893

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Hampden-Sydney, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia's figures are part of those of Prince Edward County, VA ($4.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 4.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Hampden-Sydney is mostly in Prince Edward County.

See federal money in Prince Edward 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.

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

John J. McGuire IIIR-VA-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.6%

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.

Prince Edward County38100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Prince Edward County

Largest first.

Farmville307,774

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
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/5134304

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends