Census-designated place · Montgomery County, Virginia

Shawsville, Virginia

Shawsville is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Virginia, part of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area. It has 1,411 residents. Shawsville, Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 67 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,163 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Virginia it ranks #202 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), natural hazard risk (low) and flu vaccinations (high). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), dental care shortage (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (high).

67High

Quality-of-life score: #5,163 of 15,651 cities and towns
Virginia: #202 of 375 in VA
Population: 1,411 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 592.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 5171632

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.

Safety70#4,712/15,637
Economy50#7,823/15,631
Housing48#7,827/14,977
Health51#7,659/15,609
Healthcare68#5,021/15,650
Environment100#40/15,453
Education72#4,406/15,649
Infrastructure37#9,785/15,650
Community42#9,099/15,651
Leisure & amenities61#6,135/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Shawsville, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Montgomery 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 · low1.2×
98/100Virginia 4.1×United States 4.1×2019-2023U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077High uncertainty
Natural hazard risk · low1.7
98/100Virginia 17.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMontgomery County value
Flu vaccinations · high57.0%
97/100Virginia 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.0 mi
92/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMontgomery County value
Math scores · high3.41
91/100Virginia 3.27United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Mammography screening · high55.0%
91/100Virginia 47.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Virginia 29.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMontgomery County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.563
5/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
New business applications · low8.7 /1k
12/100Virginia 15.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMontgomery County value
Drought exposure · high79%
13/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMontgomery County value
Primary care shortage · high16.0
14/100Virginia 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMontgomery County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,548 (2015-2019) → 1,411 (2020-2024)
−8.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.222 (2015-2019) → 0.563 (2020-2024)
+154%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
36.9% (2015-2019) → 67.0% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.0% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+27 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
25.2% (2015-2019) → 3.0% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Child poverty rateWorsening
27.8% (2015-2019) → 40.9% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Shawsville, Virginia improved on 0 of 5 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Inequality+0.3420.222 → 0.563
Rent / income+27 points24.0% → 51.0%

All 5 measures

Change of every measure of Shawsville, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	84.7%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	13%
High school diploma or higher	88.7%2015-2019	87.4%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.2222015-2019	0.5632020-2024	+0.342	Declined	0%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.0%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+27 points	Declined	1%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15075 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 Shawsville, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shawsville, 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 Shawsville, Virginia five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Shawsville, Virginia itself moved −57 points in standing on average over the same 4 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

1,411 residents (±618)

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: Under 10 women (+6.5 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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,411 residents (±618)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

White89%†1,260
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino8.8%†124

Education

1,147 residents (±553)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma13%†145
High school or GED43%†491
Some college21%†

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

522 households (±184)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k25%†131
$25k–50k27%†139
$50k–75k16%†81
$75k–100k5.4%†28
$100k–150k2.3%†12
$150k–200k1.3%†7
$200k or more24%†124

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−35.5 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 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

522 households (±184)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

Own83%†434
Rent17%†88

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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

88 households (±83)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $7509.1%†8
$750–1,00022%†19
$1,000–1,50069%†61

Home values

434 homes (±173)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k82%†358
$150k–250k7.8%†34
$250k–400k1.6%†7

Age of homes

522 homes (±184)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later3.6%†19
2000–20097.1%†37
1980–199946%†239

Size of homes

522 homes (±184)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom3.4%†18
2 bedrooms47%†244

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

722 workers (±366)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone95%†689
Carpool0.8%†6
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.7%†27
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

695 workers (±371)

Shawsville, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min26%†181
15–29 min51%†352
30–44 min21%†145

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

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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, 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 Montgomery County, the county holding most of Shawsville's residents.

Montgomery County has 2,016 employer establishments, 204 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Virginia's), with 32,210 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,216. The Census Bureau also counts 6,309 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,016; 6,309 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 204; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 32,210
Average annual pay: $54,216; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	192	19.5	0.93×About typical	2,284	$75,612	267
Restaurants and other eating places	177	18	0.98×About typical	4,232	$19,654	24
Specialty trade contractors	103	10.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	581	$56,067	321
Offices of physicians	90	9.1	1.41×More than typical	1,120	$70,570	52
Lessors of real estate	89	9	0.73×Fewer than typical	427	$56,927	821
Full-service restaurants	80	8.1	1.06×About typical	2,268	$21,904	8
Limited-service restaurants	79	8	1.00×About typical	1,761	$16,500	13
Religious organizations	78	7.9	1.43×More than typical	421	$23,862	—
Construction of buildings	64	6.5	0.86×About typical	789	$63,788	160
Services to buildings and dwellings	62	6.3	0.93×About typical	437	$38,302	296
Automotive repair and maintenance	50	5.1	1.01×About typical	342	$38,930	59
Architectural, engineering and related services	49	5	1.43×More than typical	1,022	$130,464	114

Rank places for an industry Open Montgomery County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 98,606 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Montgomery 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.

Shawsville, 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.

Montgomery County85100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA75

Other cities and towns in Montgomery 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/5171632