Staunton city, VA

County Profile

25,948 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Staunton city, VA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 37% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured67
Schools765th of 1,377 counties measured46
Growth1,028th of 1,453 counties measured39
Housing affordabilityTop 34% of 1,462 counties measured77
ClimateTop 44% of 1,463 counties measured70
Physical resilienceTop 10% of 1,463 counties measured88
Access1,421st of 1,463 counties measured11
Economic stability739th of 1,463 counties measured60
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $65,581, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 82% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.9 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 94 units authorized over the past twelve months, 28% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
25,948
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,581
Top 49% nationally
Density
1,303/sq mi
19.9 sq mi of land
Median age
39.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Staunton city
Virginia
Nearest major airport
IAD
102 mi · Washington Dulles Intl
Median home value
$259,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 84% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.2% over the past year, to 12,820 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$58,69750th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$57,02548th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,9192024 ACS 5-Year$65,581Top 49%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2952024 ACS 5-Year$36,608Top 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.3%Top 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.2 minTop 26%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year37.7%Top 11%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.7%37th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202612,820Bottom 16%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.1%Bottom 36%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Top 35%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,23916th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.7%Top 39%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 33%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%52nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.02.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202466k53k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $65,581 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 — Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,880$47,310
Retail Salespersons1,520$33,440
Registered Nurses1,500$92,390
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,470$29,310
Cashiers1,330$29,530
Stockers and Order Fillers1,240$36,880

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.

82% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 76% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.9 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.9
across 6 of them
Math proficiency
81.7%
Bottom 43% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
75.6%
Bottom 32% in Virginia
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Staunton HighStaunton City Public Schools76613.280%82%
Shelburne MiddleStaunton City Public Schools58311.977%69%
Thomas C. McSwain ElementaryStaunton City Public Schools44914.590%82%
Bessie Weller ElementaryStaunton City Public Schools37312.077%67%
Arthur R. Ware ElementaryStaunton City Public Schools37212.087%74%
Staunton City School PreSchool ProgramsStaunton City Public Schools14918.6——
Virginia School for the Deaf and the BlindVirginia School for the Deaf and Blind-Staunton652.2——
Commonwealth Ctr For Children & AdolescentsCommonwealth Center for Children & Adolescents0———
Western St. Hosp. Ed. Pr.Western State Hospital0———

83.4% 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 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.9, 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA Metro Area is up 58% over five years, and up 7.5% 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 $1,818 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.70% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,261, some 23% above the $1,024 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,261 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $50,400 a year, about 77% of the median household income here of $65,581.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,024 a month.

A median home at $259,200 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,137, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
92.9

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, 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
28.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,261
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,024
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$259,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Staunton city’s median household income of $65,581, 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA Metro Area’s figure202392.9Top 40%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+7.5%96th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+57.6%92nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+100.1%58th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 29%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year60.9%8th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±322024 ACS 5-Year12,39750th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,095Bottom 35%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,734Bottom 34%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,261Bottom 41%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$1,024Bottom 29%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,8432024 ACS 5-Year$259,20074th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$792024 ACS 5-Year$1,81859th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,0162024 ACS 5-Year$86,137Top 31%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.70%41st percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.0%Bottom 47%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1552024 ACS 5-Year22238th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.8%39th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%32nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2712024 ACS 5-Year1,08834th percentileof 3,2222024 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

39/ 100
Ranks 1,028 of 1,453 published county 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 grown 2% since 2020, reaching 26,361 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 147 units authorized in 2025, up 107% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 94 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 17% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Staunton city gained 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 $58,697, close to the $57,025 of households that moved out.

At 3.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
94
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.6
Top 40% nationally
Year over year
−28%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
17.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202426k26k
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 rising, 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
25%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$58,697
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$57,025
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Augusta County, VA 683 people · 34% of arrivals
  2. Waynesboro city, VA 146 people · 7.3% of arrivals
  3. Harrisonburg city, VA 105 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  4. Rockingham County, VA 85 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Albemarle County, VA 63 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Augusta County, VA 796 people · 43% of departures
  2. Waynesboro city, VA 157 people · 8.4% of departures
  3. Rockingham County, VA 74 people · 4.0% of departures
  4. Harrisonburg city, VA 70 people · 3.8% of departures
  5. Albemarle County, VA 25 people · 1.3% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202524570
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+110%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.6 inches, including 21.6 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 STAUNTON WTP, 1.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals21.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals40°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

88 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 71% of it. Inland flooding and strong wind 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 90% of measured US counties.

HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, strong wind, inland flooding, heat wave, hail, ice storm, tornado, wildfire, drought, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Staunton city has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.7 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 about 12.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 7.8 per 100,000 residents in Staunton city.

Homicide
4.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
7.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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.

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 Staunton city as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 102 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.3%Bottom 45%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle102 miBottom 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%Top 43%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Washington Dulles IntlIAD102 mi11,500 ft
Richmond IntlRIC105 mi9,003 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI147 mi10,503 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
63
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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.

Cities in Staunton city, VA