county

Buchanan County, VA

Demographic and economic profile of Buchanan County, VA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Buchanan County is a small Appalachian Virginia county of 19,857 residents with an economy that generates a notable GDP per capita of $55,054 against a median household income of $42,886, a gap suggesting capital-intensive industry—likely extractive—rather than broad wage distribution. The available labor pool is constrained, with a labor force participation rate of just 35.3% and only 10.8% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though unemployment stands at 3.6% and median worker earnings reach $36,061. Housing costs are exceptionally low—median home value of $91,400 and median gross rent of $712/month with an 83.1% homeownership rate—but the county has shed 10.3% of its population over five years and carries a 23.9% poverty rate, reflecting structural economic pressure.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

19,857

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$42,886

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-10.3% since 2018

Buchanan County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone18,205 (93.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone751 (3.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races215 (1.1%)
  • Asian Alone152 (0.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race69 (0.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone15 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish241
  2. 2.Vietnamese38
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic31
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)16
  5. 5.Other Indo-European12

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

790

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$55,054

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,203

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,447
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining708
  3. 3.Public Administration (Group)658
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)437
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services384

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,603
  2. 2.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,116
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,104
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations909
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations651

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 7.50×)693
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 2.30×)629
  3. 3.Information (LQ 1.58×)172
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.47×)927
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 0.97×)1,311

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$91,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$712/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

83.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $60,000 to $69,999747 (11.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999633 (10.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999593 (9.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999559 (8.9%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999345 (5.5%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999310 (5.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

10.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

77.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

35.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,061

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,261 (81.2%)
  • Carpooled556 (10.6%)
  • Worked At Home341 (6.5%)
  • Other45 (0.9%)
  • Public Transit26 (0.5%)
  • Walked17 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.