The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Old Dominion have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Virginia have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Virginia is the 9th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 101.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Virginia are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Dumbest Places In Virginia
Don’t freak out.
Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.
For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 62 cities in Virginia to rank. You can take a look at the data below.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
The 10 Dumbest Places In Virginia For 2025
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% Adult High School Dropout: 24.0%
% Highly Educated: 18.0%
More on Dumfries: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 19.0%
% Highly Educated: 19.0%
More on Big Stone Gap: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 18.0%
More on Front Royal: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 14.0%
% Highly Educated: 9.0%
More on Covington: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 14.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Richlands: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 19.0%
More on South Boston: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 12.0%
% Highly Educated: 13.0%
More on Hopewell: Data
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Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Old Dominion
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Virginia:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2019-2023 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Virginia from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Virginia city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2025, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Virginia.
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Virginia where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Virginia are Emporia, Dumfries, Big Stone Gap, Galax, Front Royal, Covington, Richlands, South Boston, Hopewell, and Marion.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Virginia, according to science:
- Blacksburg
- Falls Church
- Vienna
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In Virginia
- Richest Cities In Virginia
- Safest Places In Virginia
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Virginia
Dumbest Cities In Virginia For 2025
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emporia, VA | 5,633 | 24.0% | 15.0% |
| 2 | Dumfries, VA | 5,749 | 24.0% | 18.0% |
| 3 | Big Stone Gap, VA | 5,193 | 19.0% | 19.0% |
| 4 | Galax, VA | 6,698 | 17.0% | 18.0% |
| 5 | Front Royal, VA | 15,152 | 17.0% | 18.0% |
| 6 | Covington, VA | 5,671 | 14.0% | 9.0% |
| 7 | Richlands, VA | 5,188 | 14.0% | 15.0% |
| 8 | South Boston, VA | 7,896 | 15.0% | 19.0% |
| 9 | Hopewell, VA | 22,944 | 12.0% | 13.0% |
| 10 | Marion, VA | 5,694 | 17.0% | 23.0% |
| 11 | Manassas Park, VA | 16,923 | 20.0% | 26.0% |
| 12 | Danville, VA | 42,239 | 15.0% | 19.0% |
| 13 | Pulaski, VA | 8,937 | 11.0% | 15.0% |
| 14 | Woodstock, VA | 5,851 | 15.0% | 24.0% |
| 15 | Buena Vista, VA | 6,612 | 16.0% | 25.0% |
| 16 | Martinsville, VA | 13,584 | 14.0% | 21.0% |
| 17 | Petersburg, VA | 33,365 | 14.0% | 24.0% |
| 18 | Vinton, VA | 8,038 | 11.0% | 16.0% |
| 19 | Franklin, VA | 8,212 | 15.0% | 27.0% |
| 20 | Manassas, VA | 42,674 | 19.0% | 33.0% |
| 21 | Strasburg, VA | 7,162 | 10.0% | 19.0% |
| 22 | Wytheville, VA | 8,224 | 11.0% | 25.0% |
| 23 | Harrisonburg, VA | 51,492 | 18.0% | 36.0% |
| 24 | Culpeper, VA | 20,437 | 14.0% | 30.0% |
| 25 | Bristol, VA | 17,024 | 10.0% | 24.0% |
| 26 | Portsmouth, VA | 97,299 | 10.0% | 24.0% |
| 27 | Farmville, VA | 7,613 | 11.0% | 28.0% |
| 28 | Winchester, VA | 27,981 | 13.0% | 32.0% |
| 29 | Norfolk, VA | 235,037 | 11.0% | 32.0% |
| 30 | Waynesboro, VA | 22,574 | 10.0% | 27.0% |
| 31 | Roanoke, VA | 98,677 | 11.0% | 29.0% |
| 32 | Herndon, VA | 24,529 | 17.0% | 50.0% |
| 33 | Ashland, VA | 7,667 | 11.0% | 35.0% |
| 34 | Colonial Heights, VA | 18,210 | 8.0% | 29.0% |
| 35 | Newport News, VA | 184,774 | 8.0% | 29.0% |
| 36 | Hampton, VA | 137,334 | 7.0% | 27.0% |
| 37 | Bluefield, VA | 5,016 | 9.0% | 32.0% |
| 38 | Suffolk, VA | 96,638 | 9.0% | 32.0% |
| 39 | Richmond, VA | 227,595 | 11.0% | 44.0% |
| 40 | Lynchburg, VA | 79,255 | 10.0% | 38.0% |
| 41 | Salem, VA | 25,477 | 6.0% | 31.0% |
| 42 | Chesapeake, VA | 251,153 | 7.0% | 36.0% |
| 43 | Warrenton, VA | 10,151 | 8.0% | 44.0% |
| 44 | Fredericksburg, VA | 28,383 | 8.0% | 47.0% |
| 45 | Smithfield, VA | 8,729 | 6.0% | 35.0% |
| 46 | Staunton, VA | 25,765 | 6.0% | 35.0% |
| 47 | Abingdon, VA | 8,332 | 6.0% | 37.0% |
| 48 | Williamsburg, VA | 15,564 | 7.0% | 49.0% |
| 49 | Radford, VA | 16,505 | 6.0% | 40.0% |
| 50 | Virginia Beach, VA | 457,066 | 6.0% | 40.0% |
| 51 | Charlottesville, VA | 45,863 | 8.0% | 60.0% |
| 52 | Leesburg, VA | 48,788 | 7.0% | 56.0% |
| 53 | Bridgewater, VA | 6,650 | 6.0% | 49.0% |
| 54 | Fairfax, VA | 24,478 | 7.0% | 63.0% |
| 55 | Christiansburg, VA | 22,820 | 5.0% | 47.0% |
| 56 | Poquoson, VA | 12,556 | 1.0% | 41.0% |
| 57 | Alexandria, VA | 156,788 | 6.0% | 66.0% |
| 58 | Purcellville, VA | 8,974 | 6.0% | 58.0% |
| 59 | Lexington, VA | 7,420 | 4.0% | 58.0% |
| 60 | Vienna, VA | 16,369 | 4.0% | 73.0% |
| 61 | Falls Church, VA | 14,593 | 3.0% | 80.0% |
| 62 | Blacksburg, VA | 45,288 | 1.0% | 70.0% |
I am writing to you in reference to your Facebook article “These are the ten dumbest
cities in Virginia” of which Luray is number three. First of all Luray is a small
rural town, not a city. I have taught at Luray High School for 20 years. It is in
the county of Page and is one of two high schools in the county. Page County school
division has one of the highest on time graduation rates and one of the lowest
dropout rates in the state of Virginia, contrary to what your article reports. We
are a poor county but Luray High School has always been fully accredited and has
always made all the goals to meet the No Child Left Behind adequate yearly progress
(AYP). I am saddened that you would find pleasure in labeling our town as one of the
dumbest in Virginia. Our graduates have been accepted and graduated from Ivy League
universities as well as other universities on the eastern coast. We have produced
doctors, architects, politicians, engineers, attorneys, college professors and more.
I see no entertainment value in belittling Luray and the other towns and cities you
included in this article. It is sad that you seek out the bad and not the good!
Here, Here Nick…Orange County High grad here and thank you for standing up!!!
This is NOT about the “city” at all. IF you look at the list, it is a list of where the public school systems are located and that is what the author is REALLY talking about; not the city. Plus, not all of the school systems are listed, so why were these the only ones to be singled out? One really needs to question why this was written. What are the outcomes the author is expecting? What are his motives?
Back in the day at Orange County High School, we studied this concept, it is called “yellow journalism”…
Uh…it’s “Hear, hear”.
They need to recheck Martinsville again. Being #13 is a compliment. It should be in the top 5 in this case! Martinsville is full of dense acting people, even if they did graduate! This list should be done again!
The author is calling others “Dumb” but can’t differentiate between dumb and less educated.