Harrisonburg city, VA
Demographic and economic profile of Harrisonburg city, VA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.
AI Overview
Harrisonburg is a small independent city of 51,492 with a notably young population (median age 25.0) and a high foreign-born share of 17.8%, reflecting its role as a university and refugee resettlement hub in the Shenandoah Valley. The labor force participation rate stands at 61.4%, with median worker earnings of $22,856 and an unemployment rate of 7.1%, while 36.7% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The city posted a -3.6% population decline over five years, and a 25.6% poverty rate alongside a median household income of $62,254 signal a bifurcated income structure, though housing remains relatively accessible at a median home value of $278,200 and median rent of $1,120/month.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page
Population Growth (5-year)
-3.6% since 2018
Harrisonburg city lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.
Demographics
Race & Ethnicity
- White Alone33,036 (64.3%)
- Two Races Including Some Other Race5,635 (11.0%)
- Some Other Race Alone4,146 (8.1%)
- Black or African American Alone3,938 (7.7%)
- Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,505 (4.9%)
- Asian Alone1,837 (3.6%)
Top Languages Spoken at Home
- 1.Spanish9,282
- 2.Other Indo-European767
- 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic457
- 4.Arabic426
- 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island338
Economy
GDP per Capita
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Cost of Living Index
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Top Industries
- 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,087
- 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services3,803
- 3.Manufacturing (Group)3,207
- 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,055
- 5.Retail Trade (Group)3,006
Top Occupations
- 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations9,430
- 2.Service Occupations5,205
- 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,552
- 4.Sales & Office Occupations3,917
- 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,882
Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)
- 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.77×)3,842
- 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.37×)3,387
- 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.17×)3,170
- 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.04×)6,040
- 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.02×)404
Housing
Education
Workforce
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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.