Article Table Of Contents
You're at your local Whole Foods shopping for kale chips and asparagus water, trying to work out if you'll have time to stop at the Pottery Barn before you head to your yoga class taught by a girl named Sage. It hits you: you're leading the whitest life imaginable.
But does that mean the city you live in is one of the whitest places in Virginia?
Don't worry, we've figured it out for you. Using actual census data combined with our favorite white people stereotypes (as confirmed by the internet), we can determine which cities are the whitest of the white in Old Dominion.
After analyzing cities with populations greater than 5,000, we came up with this list as the whitest cities in Virginia for 2022.
Here are the 10 whites places in Virginia for 2022:
What is the whitest city in Virginia for 2022? According to the most recent census data Richlands ranks as the whitest. If you're wondering, Petersburg is the least white city of all those we measured.
Read on below to see where your hometown ranked and why. Or check out the whitest states in America and the most diverse states in America.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
The 10 Whitest Cities In Virginia For 2022
1. Richlands
/10
Population: 5,311
% White: 96.42%
More on Richlands: Real Estate | Data | Photos
2. Abingdon
/10
Population: 7,936
% White: 91.8%
More on Abingdon: Real Estate | Data | Photos
3. Poquoson
/10
Population: 12,121
% White: 90.55%
More on Poquoson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
4. Buena Vista
/10
Population: 6,477
% White: 87.85%
More on Buena Vista: Real Estate | Data | Photos
5. Wytheville
/10
Population: 7,925
% White: 87.68%
More on Wytheville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
6. Bristol
/10
Population: 17,059
% White: 87.55%
More on Bristol: Real Estate | Data | Photos
7. Marion
/10
Population: 5,646
% White: 87.19%
More on Marion: Real Estate | Data | Photos
8. Vinton
/10
Population: 8,102
% White: 86.77%
More on Vinton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
9. Christiansburg
/10
Population: 22,482
% White: 86.46%
More on Christiansburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos
10. Bridgewater
/10
Population: 6,090
% White: 86.34%
More on Bridgewater: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in Virginia for 2022
In order to rank the whitest places in Virginia, we had to determine what measurable criteria defines whiteness.
Obviously we had to count how many white people living there, specifically the percentage of white people living in each city in Virginia.
Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 59 cities.
We then calculated the percent of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 96.4% to 15.0%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of White population with a higher score being more White than a lower score. Richlands took the distinction of being the most White, while Petersburg was the least White city. You can download the data here.
Read on for more information on how the cities in Virginia ranked by population of White residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.
Summary: White Populations Across Virginia
Measuring the locations with the highest percentage of white people, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in Virginia according to the most recent data.
If you're curious enough, here are the least White places in Virginia:
- Petersburg
- Emporia
- Manassas Park
For more Virginia reading, check out:
White Population By City In { state|title }}
| Rank | City | % White |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richlands | 96.42% |
| 2 | Abingdon | 91.8% |
| 3 | Poquoson | 90.55% |
| 4 | Buena Vista | 87.85% |
| 5 | Wytheville | 87.68% |
| 6 | Bristol | 87.55% |
| 7 | Marion | 87.19% |
| 8 | Vinton | 86.77% |
| 9 | Christiansburg | 86.46% |
| 10 | Bridgewater | 86.34% |
| 11 | Pulaski | 85.35% |
| 12 | Salem | 84.58% |
| 13 | Strasburg | 84.18% |
| 14 | Radford | 83.14% |
| 15 | Staunton | 80.54% |
| 16 | Covington | 80.49% |
| 17 | Lexington | 79.42% |
| 18 | Front Royal | 77.51% |
| 19 | Blacksburg | 75.79% |
| 20 | Waynesboro | 74.5% |
| 21 | Warrenton | 73.02% |
| 22 | Galax | 72.62% |
| 23 | Big Stone Gap | 71.88% |
| 24 | Purcellville | 71.39% |
| 25 | Colonial Heights | 71.39% |
| 26 | Falls Church | 71.17% |
| 27 | Smithfield | 69.45% |
| 28 | Williamsburg | 67.94% |
| 29 | Vienna | 67.01% |
| 30 | Charlottesville | 65.6% |
| 31 | Harrisonburg | 65.27% |
| 32 | Winchester | 64.85% |
| 33 | Ashland | 62.62% |
| 34 | Lynchburg | 62.22% |
| 35 | Farmville | 61.21% |
| 36 | Virginia Beach | 61.05% |
| 37 | Leesburg | 59.96% |
| 38 | Fredericksburg | 58.09% |
| 39 | Roanoke | 58.05% |
| 40 | Chesapeake | 56.41% |
| 41 | Fairfax | 55.41% |
| 42 | Culpeper | 53.82% |
| 43 | Alexandria | 51.59% |
| 44 | Suffolk | 48.92% |
| 45 | Hopewell | 45.2% |
| 46 | Martinsville | 43.48% |
| 47 | Norfolk | 43.08% |
| 48 | Newport News | 42.09% |
| 49 | Danville | 41.6% |
| 50 | Richmond | 41.18% |
| 51 | Manassas | 39.59% |
| 52 | Hampton | 37.46% |
| 53 | Franklin | 37.22% |
| 54 | Portsmouth | 37.02% |
| 55 | Herndon | 36.36% |
| 56 | South Boston | 33.87% |
| 57 | Manassas Park | 32.51% |
| 58 | Emporia | 26.68% |
| 59 | Petersburg | 14.97% |
