Town · Shenandoah County, Virginia

Mount Jackson, Virginia

Mount Jackson is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia. It has 2,000 residents. Mount Jackson, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,121 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #342 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), homicide rate (low) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,121 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #342 of 375 in VA
Population: 2,000 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 525.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 5153992

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety71#4,533/15,637
Economy20#12,570/15,631
Housing73#3,971/14,977
Health35#10,173/15,609
Healthcare14#13,392/15,650
Environment53#7,315/15,453
Education25#11,686/15,649
Infrastructure10#14,068/15,650
Community64#5,607/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,237/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child care cost burden · low19.2%
96/100Virginia 24.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShenandoah County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Virginia 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataShenandoah County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.49%
89/100Virginia 0.78%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Social associations · high14.1 /10k
88/100Virginia 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShenandoah County value
Public EV charging ports · high12.2 /10k
87/100Virginia 6.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyShenandoah County value
Public libraries · high1.3 /10k
83/100Virginia 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesShenandoah County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high92%
6/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAShenandoah County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low10.8%
8/100Virginia 42.2%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.2 /10k
9/100Virginia 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsShenandoah County value
Job growth · low-2.5%
9/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataShenandoah County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low2.0 /10k
10/100Virginia 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsShenandoah County value
Mental health providers · low79 /100k
11/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShenandoah County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,129 (2015-2019) → 2,000 (2020-2024)
−6.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
17.7% (2015-2019) → 10.8% (2020-2024)
−7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
High school diploma or higherImproving
77.0% (2015-2019) → 83.8% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.9× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.3% (2015-2019) → 79.5% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.7% (2015-2019) → 39.4% (2020-2024)
+4.6 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, Mount Jackson, Virginia improved on 0 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 14 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Bachelor's+−7 points17.7% → 10.8%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Mount Jackson, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.2 min2015-2019	24.3 min2020-2024	+1.1 min	Within the margin of error	35%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.7%2015-2019	10.8%2020-2024	−7 points	Declined	4%
Broadband subscriptions	74.3%2015-2019	79.5%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Child poverty rate	18.8%2015-2019	21.2%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Effective property tax rate	0.60%2015-2019	0.48%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	40%
High school diploma or higher	77.0%2015-2019	83.8%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.8×	Within the margin of error	30%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3792015-2019	0.4112020-2024	+0.031	Within the margin of error	26%
Median household income	$46,8332015-2019	$52,2972020-2024	+12%	Within the margin of error	19%
Poverty rate	12.5%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	27.1%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	34.7%2015-2019	39.4%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Unemployment rate	5.4%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.2%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	21%

“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 Mount Jackson, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mount Jackson, 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, Mount Jackson, Virginia itself moved −8.5 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

2,000 residents (±362)

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

825 households (±125)

Mount Jackson, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k26%†211
$25k–50k20%†162
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

825 households (±125)

Mount Jackson, Virginia
Virginia share

Own70%579
Rent30%246

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

891 workers (±193)

Mount Jackson, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone73%647
Carpool20%†182
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 Shenandoah County, the county holding most of Mount Jackson's residents.

Shenandoah County has 922 employer establishments, 204 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Virginia's), with 12,260 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,597. The Census Bureau also counts 3,416 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 922; 3,416 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 204; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 12,260
Average annual pay: $44,597; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	78	17.3	1.11×About typical	332	$56,313	299
Restaurants and other eating places	75	16.6	0.90×About typical	1,034	$18,361	11
Religious organizations	52	11.5	2.07×More than typical	223	$22,704	—
Ambulatory health care services	47	10.4	0.50×Fewer than typical	421	$43,316	93
Construction of buildings	41	9.1	1.20×About typical	180	$41,672	147
Full-service restaurants	37	8.2	1.07×About typical	484	$18,917	3
Truck transportation	37	8.2	1.62×More than typical	327	$62,774	71
Building equipment contractors	36	8	1.32×More than typical	159	$54,340	61
Services to buildings and dwellings	34	7.5	1.12×About typical	265	$28,321	276
Automotive repair and maintenance	33	7.3	1.45×More than typical	156	$43,083	71
Lessors of real estate	30	6.6	0.54×Fewer than typical	63	$39,921	362
Gasoline stations	25	5.5	1.71×More than typical	421	$29,418	—

Rank places for an industry Open Shenandoah County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 45,202 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 $1.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Mount Jackson, Virginia: $781 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.6M; +421% vs FY2025
Per resident: $781; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; 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. Citizenship and Immigration Services$1.6M99.9%
Defense Logistics Agency$9950.1%

Top recipients

BRIDGEPHASE LLC$1.2M80%
PEREGRINE DIGITAL SERVICES, LLC$318.4K20%
HOLTZMAN OIL CORP$9950.1%
INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE SOLUTIONS, INC.$00.0%
FEDSCALE INC.$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

0FY2017
2.1KFY2018
5.8KFY2019
3.5KFY2021
7.3KFY2022
38.2KFY2023
96.9KFY2024
299.6KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$1.6M99.9%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$9950.1%

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 Mount Jackson, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Mount Jackson, Virginia's figures are part of those of Shenandoah County, VA ($52.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Shenandoah 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.

Mount Jackson, 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.

Shenandoah County51100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Shenandoah 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/5153992

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends