Lynchburg, VA

Metro Area Profile

263,798 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Lynchburg, VA metropolitan area.

64out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 49% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity244th of 379 published metros49
Growth458th of 821 published metros47
Housing affordabilityTop 49% of 822 published metros95
ClimateTop 20% of 822 published metros75
Physical resilienceTop 20% of 822 published metros76
Access782nd of 822 published metros36
Economic stability422nd of 822 published metros49
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $68,996, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published metro profiles.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Lynchburg in the top 20% for physical resilience.

The nearest major airport is 96 miles away, which is farther than most measured US metros.

At a glance

Population
263,798
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,996
Top 43% nationally
Density
124/sq mi
2120.5 sq mi of land
Median age
40.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Lynchburg, VA
Nearest major airport
GSO
96 mi · Piedmont Triad Intl
Median home value
$239,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.3% is lower than 44% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.3% over the past year, to 119,776 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,640$68,996Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$792$35,668Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.3%Bottom 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute24.5 minTop 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher31.1%Top 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment119,776Top 49%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-3.2%Bottom 11%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.3%Top 39%June 2026
Labor force125,130Top 49%June 2026
Labor force participation59.0%Bottom 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$57,880Bottom 32%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,190Bottom 32%2025 OEWS
Metro employment97,190Bottom 47%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 24%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.3%Top 44%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.72.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.3% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Lynchburg, VA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,280$28,220
Retail Salespersons2,950$30,570
Cashiers2,810$28,390
Registered Nurses2,200$80,450
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,120$27,810
Stockers and Order Fillers2,080$30,960

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $991 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$991
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$239,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.47Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.6%Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±120119,048Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$21$991Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,328$239,700Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.2%Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate13.1%Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
47/ 100
Ranks 458 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 266,432 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 3% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
996
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.8
Top 35% nationally
Year over year
−11%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
2.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024266k262k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.8 inches, including 11.6 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LYNCHBURG RGNL AP, 3.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation42.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall11.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing40°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

76 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, earthquake and lightning.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 92% of measured US metros.

HurricaneModerate
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, landslide, inland flooding, winter weather, ice storm, wildfire, heat wave, avalanche, tornado, hail.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 96 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO96 mi10,001 ft
Richmond IntlRIC105 mi9,003 ft
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU105 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
64
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.