Worst Small Towns In Virginia For 2020


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in VA are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
December 27, 2019 - 77,871 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2020. This is our sixth time ranking the worst small places to live in Virginia.

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Most Americans have never been to Virginia. However, as the people who live there know, Virginia is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Virginia has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Old Dominion. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 151 of Virginia's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Virginia where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Virginia for 2020:

  1. Raven
  2. Pennington Gap
  3. Appalachia
  4. Norton (Photos)
  5. Saltville (Photos)
  6. Chase City
  7. Hillsville
  8. Independence
  9. Honaker
  10. Coeburn (Photos)

So what is the worst small town to call home in virginia for 2020? According to the most recent census data, Raven is the worst small town to live in Virginia.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Virginia has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Virginia or the worst places to live in Virginia.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Virginia For 2020

1. Raven

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,666
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $65,900 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 15.2% (5th worst)
More on Raven:  Data

2. Pennington Gap

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,974
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $81,900 (8th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 11.8% (17th worst)
More on Pennington Gap:  Data

3. Appalachia

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,469
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $62,600 (1st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.8% (8th worst)
More on Appalachia:  Data

4. Norton

Norton, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Eli Christman ( | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,990
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 13)
Median Home Value: $91,700 (17th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 13.8% (13th worst)
More on Norton:  Data | Photos

5. Saltville

Saltville, VA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,621
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 5)
Median Home Value: $83,500 (11th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (72nd worst)
More on Saltville:  Data | Photos

6. Chase City

Source: Public Domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,401
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $77,300 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.3% (52nd worst)
More on Chase City:  Data

7. Hillsville

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,671
Rank Last Year: 21 (Up 14)
Median Home Value: $100,600 (24th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 2.5% (128th worst)
More on Hillsville:  Data

8. Independence

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,139
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $85,900 (13th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.5% (21st worst)
More on Independence:  Data

9. Honaker

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,330
Rank Last Year: 24 (Up 15)
Median Home Value: $71,600 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (38th worst)
More on Honaker:  Data

10. Coeburn

Coeburn, VA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,669
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $78,700 (6th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 15.1% (6th worst)
More on Coeburn:  Data | Photos

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Virginia, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in Virginia for 2020

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2014-2018 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 151 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In Virginia

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Old Dominion with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Virginia, according to science:

  1. Pantops (Pop. 3,569)
  2. Haymarket (Pop. 1,629)
  3. Hayfield (Pop. 4,335)

For more Virginia reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Virginia

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Raven 1,666 15.2% $65,900
2 Pennington Gap 1,974 11.8% $81,900
3 Appalachia 1,469 14.8% $62,600
4 Norton 3,990 13.8% $91,700
5 Saltville 2,621 5.5% $83,500
6 Chase City 2,401 7.3% $77,300
7 Hillsville 2,671 2.5% $100,600
8 Independence 1,139 10.5% $85,900
9 Honaker 1,330 8.4% $71,600
10 Coeburn 1,669 15.1% $78,700
11 Victoria 2,043 4.7% $84,200
12 Lawrenceville 1,380 20.5% $82,500
13 Stuart 1,499 12.8% $136,000
14 Castlewood 2,058 15.3% $82,000
15 Weber City 1,534 8.5% $104,200
16 Henry Fork 1,511 7.4% $121,300
17 Meadow View 1,307 10.1% $114,200
18 Gate City 2,406 6.7% $97,500
19 Clifton Forge 3,603 15.5% $77,400
20 Gretna 1,310 7.0% $103,800
21 Rocky Mount 4,747 9.7% $137,500
22 Wakefield 1,022 9.7% $112,500
23 Dryden 1,282 9.9% $92,300
24 Stanleytown 1,297 7.9% $89,400
25 Jonesville 1,248 10.1% $105,300
26 Glasgow 1,487 14.6% $104,700
27 Tappahannock 1,925 11.9% $178,000
28 South Hill 4,411 4.2% $157,000
29 Rustburg 1,477 1.5% $132,000
30 Waverly 2,051 14.3% $135,000
31 Stanley 1,730 10.1% $156,600
32 Horse Pasture 2,136 3.5% $89,800
33 Cedar Bluff 1,081 7.4% $110,300
34 Cana 1,926 0.0% $96,900
35 Altavista 3,442 4.1% $107,200
36 Kenbridge 1,015 3.9% $114,400
37 Ridgeway 1,047 8.9% $110,000
38 Keysville 1,007 1.7% $100,000
39 Louisa 1,724 5.8% $197,400
40 Mount Jackson 2,451 6.0% $141,700
41 Exmore 1,521 3.3% $116,000
42 Ferrum 2,233 12.8% $119,900
43 Shawsville 1,836 0.3% $104,200
44 Luray 4,818 6.7% $162,300
45 Chilhowie 1,855 5.4% $133,200
46 Clintwood 1,434 3.8% $88,000
47 Crewe 2,448 3.6% $119,300
48 Blackstone 3,438 2.2% $117,200
49 Appomattox 1,851 2.6% $125,900
50 Kilmarnock 1,478 2.9% $183,000
51 Orange 4,935 8.3% $215,000
52 Fieldale 1,116 0.0% $81,400
53 Amherst 2,569 7.5% $160,300
54 Verona 3,964 7.7% $157,100
55 Tazewell 4,327 9.8% $107,200
56 Patrick Springs 1,808 2.9% $107,300
57 Merrimac 2,127 16.4% $167,200
58 Adwolf 1,673 7.5% $116,800
59 Shenandoah Farms 3,807 7.0% $226,100
60 Pembroke 1,056 3.4% $95,700
61 Chatmoss 1,405 10.9% $180,300
62 Bluefield 4,984 2.6% $108,600
63 Dublin 2,655 9.4% $128,000
64 Glade Spring 1,429 9.3% $111,700
65 Courtland 1,958 5.2% $168,400
66 Shenandoah 2,888 3.7% $137,600
67 Onancock 1,227 14.4% $196,900
68 New Market 2,341 2.1% $223,100
69 Windsor 2,700 7.1% $159,300
70 Prince George 2,129 3.4% $212,500
71 Timberville 2,613 5.2% $151,700
72 Hurt 1,478 4.5% $118,500
73 Glenvar 1,066 0.0% $174,400
74 Deltaville 1,050 9.5% $287,200
75 Lyndhurst 1,803 5.4% $178,100
76 Chincoteague 2,899 6.9% $235,100
77 Lebanon 3,249 2.7% $157,300
78 Edinburg 1,261 8.0% $185,400
79 Buchanan 1,179 3.1% $123,100
80 Dooms 1,074 0.0% $186,200
81 Gordonsville 1,708 6.6% $192,300
82 Emory 1,306 9.9% $209,900
83 Narrows 2,087 4.0% $97,600
84 Colonial Beach 3,555 7.7% $246,000
85 Wise 3,047 3.0% $132,400
86 Woodlawn Cdp (Carroll County) 2,110 0.0% $111,500
87 Loch Lomond 4,601 8.7% $308,500
88 Rural Retreat 1,644 5.0% $130,100
89 Harriston 1,255 6.5% $171,500
90 Pearisburg 2,669 6.6% $105,000
91 Berryville 4,293 7.1% $309,500
92 Warsaw 1,704 1.7% $205,800
93 Springville 1,326 1.0% $111,300
94 Halifax 1,314 1.6% $158,400
95 Bracey 1,101 3.7% $242,100
96 Cape Charles 1,145 5.3% $339,800
97 Stephens City 1,989 4.8% $202,100
98 Middl 1,516 5.0% $191,700
99 Chatham 1,210 0.0% $139,500
100 Broadway 3,855 5.0% $197,600
Download The Entire Virginia Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

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