City · Harrisonburg city, Virginia

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Harrisonburg is a city in Harrisonburg city, Virginia, part of the Harrisonburg, VA metro area. It has 51,392 residents. Harrisonburg, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 71 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,613 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #185 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on dentists (high), mental health providers (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), voter turnout (low) and poverty rate (high).

71High

Quality-of-life score: #4,613 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #185 of 375 in VA
Population: 51,392 (2020-2024)
Land area: 17 mi²
Density: 2,964.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 5135624

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety76#3,694/15,637
Economy19#12,694/15,631
Housing63#5,508/14,977
Health58#6,559/15,609
Healthcare85#2,397/15,650
Environment95#747/15,453
Education37#9,846/15,649
Infrastructure39#9,558/15,650
Community64#5,594/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,930/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Dentists · high151 /100k
100/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHarrisonburg city value
Mental health providers · high756 /100k
98/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHarrisonburg city value
Pharmacies · high3.2 /10k
97/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHarrisonburg city value
Distance to an emergency room · low2.7 mi
96/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHarrisonburg city value
Flu vaccinations · high56.0%
96/100Virginia 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHarrisonburg city value
Access to exercise opportunities · high98.7%
95/100Virginia 83.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHarrisonburg city value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high100%
1/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAHarrisonburg city value
Voter turnout · low45.8%
1/100Virginia 70.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionHarrisonburg city value
Poverty rate · high25.7%
5/100Virginia 9.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Dental care shortage · high17.0
12/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationHarrisonburg city value
Reading scores · low2.76
13/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHarrisonburg city value
Broadband subscriptions · low85.9%
15/100Virginia 91.0%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.7 /1k (2021) → 2.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+201%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.0% (2015-2019) → 85.9% (2020-2024)
+7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$46,679 (2015-2019) → $62,254 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateWorsening
18.4% (2015-2019) → 21.8% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
28.3% (2015-2019) → 25.7% (2020-2024)
−2.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
48.9% (2015-2019) → 46.4% (2020-2024)
−2.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Harrisonburg, Virginia improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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.

Improved4

Inequality−0.0300.484 → 0.454
Uninsured−2.4 points13.6% → 11.2%
Household income+33%$46,679 → $62,254
Broadband+7.8 points78.0% → 85.9%

Declined1

Unemployment+2 points4.9% → 6.9%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Harrisonburg, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.6 min2015-2019	17.1 min2020-2024	+0.5 min	Within the margin of error	42%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.3%2015-2019	37.5%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Broadband subscriptions	78.0%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Improved	48%
Child poverty rate	18.4%2015-2019	21.8%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Effective property tax rate	0.70%2015-2019	0.74%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	11%
High school diploma or higher	83.9%2015-2019	84.3%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Home price to income ratio	4.4×2015-2019	4.8×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	52%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4842015-2019	0.4542020-2024	−0.030	Improved	74%
Median household income	$46,6792015-2019	$62,2542020-2024	+33%	Improved	62%
Poverty rate	28.3%2015-2019	25.7%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Public transit commuters	2.0%2015-2019	1.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent as share of income	29.6%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent-burdened households	48.9%2015-2019	46.4%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Unemployment rate	4.9%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	+2 points	Declined	17%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.6%2015-2019	11.2%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Improved	72%

“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 Harrisonburg, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Harrisonburg, 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, Harrisonburg, Virginia itself moved +0.9 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

51,392 residents

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

17,360 households (±299)

Harrisonburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k21%3,717
$25k–50k18%3,170
$50k–75k18%3,074

Homes

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

Owners and renters

17,360 households (±299)

Harrisonburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Own39%6,855
Rent61%10,505

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

23,876 workers (±794)

Harrisonburg, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone68%16,215
Carpool14%3,236
Public transit1.8%†426

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 Harrisonburg, 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 Harrisonburg city, the county holding most of Harrisonburg's residents.

Harrisonburg city has 1,695 employer establishments, 333 for every 10,000 residents (1.34× the US rate of 248; 1.38× Virginia's), with 26,378 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,260. The Census Bureau also counts 4,252 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,695; 4,252 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 333; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 26,378
Average annual pay: $43,260; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	184	36.1	1.97×More than typical	4,348	$20,152	32
Ambulatory health care services	149	29.2	1.40×More than typical	1,640	$60,362	156
Full-service restaurants	81	15.9	2.07×More than typical	2,116	$22,658	14
Limited-service restaurants	73	14.3	1.79×More than typical	1,688	$18,037	15
Specialty trade contractors	73	14.3	0.93×About typical	878	$63,588	192
Lessors of real estate	59	11.6	0.94×About typical	282	$48,152	433
Personal care services	56	11	2.30×More than typical	222	$30,383	178
Offices of other health practitioners	55	10.8	1.78×More than typical	287	$46,899	87
Religious organizations	55	10.8	1.95×More than typical	318	$28,651	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	48	9.4	1.87×More than typical	206	$45,490	59
Legal services	47	9.2	1.71×More than typical	284	$76,141	22
Banks and credit unions	38	7.5	2.31×More than typical	320	$71,838	—

Rank places for an industry Open Harrisonburg city

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 50,976 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 -$679.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Harrisonburg, Virginia: -$13.21 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$679.1K; −102% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$13.21; 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

U.S. Secret Service$409.7K0.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$216.6K0.0%
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center$60.4K0.0%
Public Buildings Service$60.2K0.0%
Federal Acquisition Service$39.6K0.0%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$28.6K0.0%
Department of the Army$19.9K0.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$7,9890.0%

Top recipients

TRUCK ENTERPRISES INC$409.7K0.0%
COMSONICS, INC.$216.6K0.0%
DAE SUNG LLC$42.4K0.0%
PARABON NANOLABS, INC.$28.6K0.0%
PECK, PECK AND ASSOCIATES, INC.$17.8K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

32MFY2017
46.5MFY2018
123MFY2019
188.1MFY2020
49.9MFY2021
31.8MFY2022
36.9MFY2023
48.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Motor vehicle manufacturing · 3361$409.7K0.0%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$216.6K0.0%
Apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing · 3159$100K0.0%
Facilities support services · 5612$42.4K0.0%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$32.6K0.0%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$19.9K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Harrisonburg, Virginia

CALL FOR MISCELLANEOUS AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS$11M
TACTICAL & SURVIVAL SPECIALTIES, LLC· Harrisonburg city, VA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Nov 17, 2022 – May 21, 2026· 47QSWA23F0MYX
FIRM FIXED PRICE PURCHASE ORDER FOR SPECIAL PURPOSE BULLETPROOF GLASS DELIVERY VEHICLES.$1.1M
TRUCK ENTERPRISES INC· Harrisonburg city, VA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Sep 11, 2025 – Mar 13, 2026· 70US0925P70092508
8511920121!TURBINE FUEL,AVIATION, JP8$349.1K
SEDRA LLC· Harrisonburg city, VA· Fuel· Feb 13, 2026 – Mar 17, 2026· SPE60526P9508
PORTABLE COMMAND CENTER

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

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

See federal money in Harrisonburg city

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.

Harrisonburg, 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.

Harrisonburg city69100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Harrisonburg, VA68

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/5135624

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends