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Towns / Virginia

Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville is a small town of about 1,600 people in Orange County, Virginia. It has grown about 10% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Richmond, is about 57 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,587
up 9.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$272,800
Orange County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$61,556
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
16 miles
Charlottesville, VA
To Richmond
57 mi
straight line

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 4.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Orange County High, about 9 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 57 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 Gordonsville 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
$272,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Orange County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$941 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,556U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,461 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
24%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not Gordonsville 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
1,5872020: 1,444
Median age
38.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
20%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

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 (32%); manufacturing (11%); professional and business services (10%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, VA, about 16 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

1 public school in Gordonsville, run by Orange County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Orange County High, about 9 miles away.

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.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription
93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

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

Weather

January average low
25°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
26 a year
Nights at or below freezing
92 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.7 inches a year
Snow
16 inches a year
Elevation
476 feet

Weather station: Piedmont Rsch Stn (8 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

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: Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, Harrisonburg, Richmond.

Orange County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Gordonsville Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Shenandoah National Park22 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail23 miles
  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park26 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway37 miles
  • Richmond National Battlefield Park38 miles

Read about Gordonsville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Gordonsville?

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

Smaller places

  • Barboursville, VA (unincorporated)694 people, 6 miles
  • Blue Ridge Shores, VA (unincorporated)918 people, 9 miles
  • Ruckersville, VA (unincorporated)1,399 people, 12 miles
  • Piney Mountain, VA (unincorporated)2,288 people, 12 miles
  • Keswick, VA (unincorporated)402 people, 13 miles
  • Unionville, VA (unincorporated)262 people, 14 miles
  • Rivanna, VA (unincorporated)2,211 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.