Christiansburg, Virginia

Area Profile

22,720 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Christiansburg, in Montgomery County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 33% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity3,303rd of 4,199 cities measured42
SchoolsTop 27% of 4,162 cities measured67
GrowthTop 26% of 4,224 cities measured62
Housing affordabilityTop 11% of 4,218 cities measured81
Climate2,691st of 4,225 cities measured65
Physical resilienceTop 20% of 4,226 cities measured82
Access4,090th of 4,226 cities measured48
Economic stability2,326th of 4,226 cities measured55
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.2% and the Opportunity signal places Christiansburg in the bottom 21%. The unemployment rate is published for Montgomery County, VA, which contains Christiansburg, rather than for Christiansburg alone.

In the public schools here, 88% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.7 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 244 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, against 21 the year before.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
22,720
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$77,147
Top 36% nationally
Density
1,543/sq mi
14.7 sq mi of land
Median age
39.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Virginia
Nearest major airport
GSO
76 mi · Piedmont Triad Intl
Median home value
$252,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Montgomery County, VA, which contains Christiansburg, is 4.2%, lower than in 55% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Montgomery County, VA, which contains Christiansburg, fell 4.3% over the past year, to 44,735 employed residents.

45% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMontgomery County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,88026th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMontgomery County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$60,42025th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,6452024 ACS 5-Year$77,147Top 36%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3722024 ACS 5-Year$42,322Top 28%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.5%Top 49%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.0 minTop 17%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year44.7%Top 15%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.1%60th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMontgomery County, VA’s figureJuly 202644,735Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Montgomery County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−7.5%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Montgomery County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−4.3%Bottom 2%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMontgomery County, VA’s figureJuly 202646,67344th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.0%Top 32%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBlacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$61,090Bottom 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBlacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,120Bottom 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Montgomery County, VA’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 34%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMontgomery County, VA’s figureJuly 20264.2%Top 45%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.7%66th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202477k64k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $77,147 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators2,450$45,950
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,230$28,300
Cashiers1,790$28,770
Retail Salespersons1,690$31,780
Stockers and Order Fillers1,520$34,880
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners1,480$34,520

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Montgomery County, VA, which contains this city.

88% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 80% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.7 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.7
across 5 of them
Math proficiency
87.6%
Top 25% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
80.3%
Bottom 48% in Virginia
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Christiansburg HighMontgomery County Public Schools1,07213.493%83%
Christiansburg MiddleMontgomery County Public Schools77812.282%79%
Falling Branch ElementaryMontgomery County Public Schools53512.484%81%
Christiansburg ElementaryMontgomery County Public Schools40112.989%75%
Christiansburg PrimaryMontgomery County Public Schools34612.4——
Montgomery County Governor's STEM AcademyMontgomery County Public Schools0———
Montgomery CentralMontgomery County Public Schools0———
Altern Ed Prgm/Behav Disord Youth/MontgomeryAlt Ed Prgm/Behav Disord Youth/Montgomery0———

48.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Virginia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 90.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area is up 46% over five years, and up 5.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,863 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.74% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,271, some 8% above the $1,181 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,271 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $50,800 a year, about 66% of the median household income here of $77,147.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,181 a month.

A median home at $252,600 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $98,074, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
90.9

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
26.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,271
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,181
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$252,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Christiansburg’s median household income of $77,147, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area’s figure202390.9Top 9%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.7%84th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+45.6%65th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+85.7%38th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 47%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year59.8%20th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5022024 ACS 5-Year11,27195th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$993Top 23%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,706Top 30%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,271Top 26%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$542024 ACS 5-Year$1,181Bottom 33%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,9672024 ACS 5-Year$252,60065th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1362024 ACS 5-Year$1,86353rd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,5222024 ACS 5-Year$98,074Top 29%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.74%32nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.5%Top 40%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±672024 ACS 5-Year7887th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%59th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%57th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2872024 ACS 5-Year1,01895th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

62/ 100
Top 26% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 3% since 2020, to 22,632 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 109 units authorized in 2025, up 85% on the prior year.

74% of the 244 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Montgomery County, which contains Christiansburg, lost about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $59,880, close to the $60,420 of households that moved out.

At 10.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
244
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
10.7
Top 10% nationally
Year over year
+1062%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
73.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202423k22k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
48%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,880
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$60,420
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Pulaski County, VA 271 people · 6.0% of arrivals
  2. Radford city, VA 262 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  3. Roanoke County, VA 212 people · 4.7% of arrivals
  4. Roanoke city, VA 142 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  5. Giles County, VA 126 people · 2.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Pulaski County, VA 320 people · 6.5% of departures
  2. Radford city, VA 314 people · 6.3% of departures
  3. Roanoke County, VA 197 people · 4.0% of departures
  4. Floyd County, VA 166 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. Roanoke city, VA 156 people · 3.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Montgomery County, VA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202511559
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−5%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.1 inches, including 21.7 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 CHRISTIANSBURG, 0.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals21.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

82 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 67% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 80% of measured US cities.

LandslideModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LightningModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, inland flooding, avalanche, hurricane, hail, strong wind, wildfire, ice storm, tornado, heat wave, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
160
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,203
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Christiansburg's police department reported 160 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,203.

Montgomery County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 12.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 14.2 per 100,000 residents in Montgomery County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.2
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Christiansburg’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Christiansburg (Montgomery County) rather than Christiansburg itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Piedmont Triad Intl at 76 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year92.4%Top 38%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle76 miBottom 4%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%Top 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO76 mi10,001 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI120 mi8,000 ft
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU125 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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—

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Other cities in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BlacksburgMontgomery County45,44654Blacksburg vs Christiansburg
RadfordRadford city16,72654Radford vs Christiansburg

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Christiansburg side by side with a similar place.

Christiansburg vs AuburnChristiansburg vs Hutchinson

Moving to Christiansburg from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Christiansburg

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Christiansburg with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Christiansburg closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2407329,677$76,800$253,200—