Living in Cedar Bluff, Virginia: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Virginia outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byClinch Valley Medical Center in Richlands, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 140 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Cedar Bluff meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $111,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 12%Tazewell County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $860 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $37,170U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $753 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940: 17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 88.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Virginia outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not Cedar Bluff alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,0032020: 1,050
Median age: 51.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (20%); retail (17%); government (14%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 17%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Clinch Valley Medical Center, Richlands, VA, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Cedar Bluff, run by Tazewell County Public Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Southwest Virginia Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Virginia's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 23°F
July average high: 83°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 6 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 126 a year
Rain and melted snow: 44.6 inches a year
Snow: 18 inches a year
Elevation: 1,966 feet

Weather station: Richlands (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Clinch Valley Medical CenterEmergency room3

Kingsport, TNCity of 58,00058

Charlotte, NCMetro of 2.9 million140

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Clinch Valley Medical Center, Kingsport, Charlotte.

Tazewell County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Old Kentucky Turnpike Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail18 miles
Bluestone National Scenic River51 miles
Blue Ridge Parkway54 miles

Read about Cedar Bluff's history on Wikipedia.

Know Cedar Bluff?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Richlands, VA5,100 people, 3 miles
Honaker, VA1,200 people, 12 miles
Tazewell, VA4,300 people, 14 miles
Saltville, VA1,800 people, 15 miles
Chilhowie, VA1,600 people, 20 miles
Glade Spring, VA1,400 people, 21 miles

Smaller places

Claypool Hill, VA (unincorporated)1,610 people, 2 miles
Pounding Mill, VA (unincorporated)222 people, 3 miles
Raven, VA (unincorporated)1,345 people, 5 miles
Allison Gap, VA (unincorporated)526 people, 13 miles
Berwind, WV (unincorporated)127 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.