The 10 Whitest Cities In Virginia For 2023


The whitest cities in Virginia are Richlands and Abingdon for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

Whitest cities in Virginia research summary. We analyzed Virginia’s most recent Census data to determine the whitest cities in Virginia based on the percentage of White residents. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The whitest city in Virginia is Richlands based on the most recent Census data.

  • Richlands is 94.66% White.

  • The least White city in Virginia is Petersburg.

  • Petersburg is 15.01% White.

  • Virginia is 60.6% White.

  • Virginia is the 35th Whitest state in the United States.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Today, we are looking at the whitest places in Virginia. We won’t measure the number of Whole Foods or Pottery Barns per capita. Instead, we’ll focus on the Census data’s report of race by place in Virginia. In particular, we ranked each place in Virginia by the percentage of white people.

So where are the whitest cities you can live in Virginia?

After analyzing cities with populations greater than 5,000, we came up with this list as the whitest cities in Virginia for 2023.

Here are the 10 whites places in Virginia for 2023:

  1. Richlands
  2. Abingdon
  3. Wytheville
  4. Poquoson
  5. Bluefield
  6. Vinton
  7. Bristol
  8. Buena Vista
  9. Marion
  10. Strasburg

What is the whitest city in Virginia for 2023? 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:

The 10 Whitest Cities In Virginia For 2023

1. Richlands

Richlands, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Brian Stansberry | CC BY 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,300
% White: 94.66%
More on Richlands: Data | Real Estate

2. Abingdon

Abingdon, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Ricknightcrawler | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 8,350
% White: 92.24%
More on Abingdon: Data | Real Estate

3. Wytheville

Wytheville, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Mark Warner | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 8,260
% White: 91.32%
More on Wytheville: Data | Real Estate

4. Poquoson

Poquoson, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Chrisfortier at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 12,382
% White: 90.36%
More on Poquoson: Data | Real Estate

5. Bluefield

Bluefield, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Brian Stansberry | CC BY 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,079
% White: 89.74%
More on Bluefield: Data | Real Estate

6. Vinton

Vinton, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Warfieldian | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 8,039
% White: 88.07%
More on Vinton: Data | Real Estate

7. Bristol

Bristol, VA

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 16,996
% White: 87.79%
More on Bristol: Data | Real Estate

8. Buena Vista

Buena Vista, VA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,649
% White: 87.34%
More on Buena Vista: Data | Real Estate

9. Marion

Marion, VA

Source: Wikipedia User DwayneP (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,817
% White: 86.44%
More on Marion: Data | Real Estate

10. Strasburg

Strasburg, VA

Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 7,036
% White: 85.87%
More on Strasburg: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in Virginia for 2023

To rank the whitest places in Virginia, we had to determine what measurable criteria define whiteness.

We had to count how many white people living there per capita. In other words, the percentage of white people living in each city in Virginia.

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*
* Not Hispanic or latino

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 60 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 94.7% to 15.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage 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.

We updated this article for 2023. This report represents our tenth time ranking the whitest cities in Virginia.

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

We measured the locations with the highest percentage of white people in Virginia. According to the most recent data, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in Virginia.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least White places in Virginia:

  1. Petersburg
  2. Emporia
  3. Manassas Park

For more Virginia reading, check out:

White Population By City In Virginia

Rank City % White Population
1 Richlands 94.66% 5,300
2 Abingdon 92.24% 8,350
3 Wytheville 91.32% 8,260
4 Poquoson 90.36% 12,382
5 Bluefield 89.74% 5,079
6 Vinton 88.07% 8,039
7 Bristol 87.79% 16,996
8 Buena Vista 87.34% 6,649
9 Marion 86.44% 5,817
10 Strasburg 85.87% 7,036
11 Pulaski 85.43% 8,984
12 Bridgewater 85.36% 6,092
13 Salem 84.22% 25,335
14 Christiansburg 84.06% 23,174
15 Radford 82.97% 16,205
16 Covington 80.51% 5,716
17 Staunton 80.14% 25,358
18 Lexington 79.98% 7,287
19 Big Stone Gap 76.8% 5,280
20 Blacksburg 76.4% 44,385
21 Front Royal 75.83% 15,039
22 Galax 75.12% 6,681
23 Warrenton 75.0% 10,002
24 Waynesboro 73.41% 22,149
25 Purcellville 71.4% 8,910
26 Smithfield 71.16% 8,513
27 Falls Church 70.65% 14,494
28 Colonial Heights 70.3% 18,127
29 Williamsburg 67.76% 15,299
30 Vienna 67.45% 16,465
31 Charlottesville 65.42% 46,597
32 Winchester 64.52% 28,194
33 Harrisonburg 64.32% 52,062
34 Farmville 62.1% 7,266
35 Lynchburg 61.87% 78,973
36 Virginia Beach 60.53% 457,658
37 Ashland 60.24% 7,478
38 Leesburg 59.75% 48,223
39 Fredericksburg 57.98% 28,027
40 Roanoke 57.44% 99,578
41 Culpeper 56.72% 19,740
42 Chesapeake 55.76% 247,172
43 Fairfax 54.62% 23,980
44 Alexandria 51.51% 158,185
45 Suffolk 48.46% 93,268
46 Hopewell 44.2% 23,020
47 Norfolk 42.89% 238,556
48 Martinsville 42.71% 13,476
49 Richmond 41.44% 225,676
50 South Boston 41.39% 8,011
51 Newport News 41.35% 185,069
52 Danville 40.89% 42,556
53 Manassas 38.93% 42,596
54 Franklin 37.56% 8,249
55 Hampton 36.87% 136,748
56 Portsmouth 36.51% 97,454
57 Herndon 35.42% 24,574
58 Manassas Park 31.1% 17,081
59 Emporia 19.51% 5,761
60 Petersburg 15.01% 33,229
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.