Scores by category

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

Safety52#7,581/15,637
Economy8#14,313/15,631
Housing54#6,926/14,977
Health9#14,139/15,609
Healthcare3#15,229/15,650
Environment98#358/15,453
Education87#2,013/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,806/15,650
Community21#12,309/15,651
Leisure & amenities0#15,631/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Independence, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Grayson 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
100/100Virginia 20 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGrayson County value
Students per teacher · low10.1×
98/100Virginia 13.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsGrayson County value
Public libraries · high2.6 /10k
94/100Virginia 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesGrayson County value
Violent crime rate · low92 /100k
88/100Virginia 206 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationGrayson County value
Reading scores · high3.29
87/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrayson County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,967 /100k
86/100Virginia 2,649 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrayson County value

Weaknesses

Restaurants and bars · low1.3 /10k
0/100Virginia 8.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGrayson County value
Job growth · low-8.9%
0/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataGrayson County value
Average weekly wage · low$780
0/100Virginia $1,540United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGrayson County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Virginia 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGrayson County value
Primary care physicians · low13 /100k
2/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrayson County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Virginia 6.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyGrayson County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,040 (2015-2019) → 1,132 (2020-2024)
+8.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.1% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
43.5% (2015-2019) → 56.5% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$24,651 (2015-2019) → $39,286 (2020-2024)
+59%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateImproving
14.8% (2015-2019) → 4.8% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.6% (2015-2019) → 34.3% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Independence, Virginia improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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+17 points64.1% → 81.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Independence, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.6 min2015-2019	19.0 min2020-2024	−3.6 min	Within the margin of error	83%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.3%2015-2019	19.6%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Broadband subscriptions	64.1%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	85%
Effective property tax rate	0.46%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	3%
High school diploma or higher	81.4%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	−0.5×	Within the margin of error	94%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5192015-2019	0.5552020-2024	+0.036	Within the margin of error	23%
Median household income	$24,6512015-2019	$39,2862020-2024	+59%	Within the margin of error	90%
Poverty rate	22.3%2015-2019	23.6%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent as share of income	27.6%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Rent-burdened households	43.5%2015-2019	56.5%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.3%2015-2019	11.4%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%

“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 Independence, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Independence, 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, Independence, Virginia itself moved −2.2 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

1,132 residents (±200)

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

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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,132 residents (±200)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

White88%991
Black5.4%†61
Hispanic or Latino4.4%†50

Education

863 residents (±140)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma14%†119
High school or GED37%319
Some college20%†174

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

472 households (±95)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k32%†149
$25k–50k32%†149
$50k–75k11%†52
$75k–100k6.4%†30
$100k–150k11%†54
$150k–200k6.6%†31
$200k or more1.5%†7

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−19.6 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 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

472 households (±95)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

Own66%312
Rent34%†160

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+20.7 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

156 households (±51)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $75057%†89
$750–1,00014%†22
$1,000–1,50019%†30

Home values

312 homes (±78)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k62%†193
$150k–250k26%†82
$250k–400k7.7%†24

Age of homes

568 homes (±110)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later0.9%†5
2000–20096.3%†36
1980–199920%†113

Size of homes

568 homes (±110)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio1.4%†8
1 bedroom8.1%†46
2 bedrooms34%†191

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

332 workers (±118)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone79%†263
Carpool2.7%†9
Public transit0.0%0
Walk5.1%†17
Bike0.0%0
Work from home10%†34
Other2.7%†9

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (−15.4 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

298 workers (±91)

Independence, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min49%†147
15–29 min19%†57
30–44 min18%†55

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 Grayson County, the county holding most of Independence's residents.

Grayson County has 173 employer establishments, 113 for every 10,000 residents (0.46× the US rate of 248; 0.47× Virginia's), with 1,566 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,957. The Census Bureau also counts 996 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 173; 996 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 113; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 1,566
Average annual pay: $40,957; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	13	8.5	0.55×Fewer than typical	34	$37,412	105
Religious organizations	11	7.2	1.30×More than typical	29	$11,828	—
Other specialty trade contractors	10	6.6	2.61×More than typical	24	$34,417	47
Ambulatory health care services	9	5.9	0.28×Too few to compare	67	$23,254	34
Banks and credit unions	8	5.2	1.62×Too few to compare	106	$64,575	—
Gasoline stations	8	5.2	1.62×Too few to compare	40	$23,300	—
Restaurants and other eating places	8	5.2	0.29×Too few to compare	62	$24,790	—
Truck transportation	8	5.2	1.04×Too few to compare	77	$61,247	26
Lessors of real estate	7	4.6	0.37×Too few to compare	9	$72,000	69
Services to buildings and dwellings	7	4.6	0.68×Too few to compare	14	$22,857	95
Construction of buildings	6	3.9	0.52×Too few to compare	17	$15,235	58
Full-service restaurants	6	3.9	0.51×Too few to compare	39	$25,385	—

Rank places for an industry Open Grayson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,259 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 Independence, Virginia: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

0FY2017
18.4FY2019

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

Independence, Virginia's figures are part of those of Grayson County, VA ($4.2M 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: Independence is mostly in Grayson County.

See federal money in Grayson 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.

Independence, 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.

Grayson County30100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Grayson 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
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/5139528