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Towns / Virginia

Grottoes, Virginia

Grottoes is a small town of about 3,100 people in Rockingham County, Virginia. It has grown about 7% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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 90 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,099
up 6.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$275,700
Rockingham County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$100,291
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Harrisonburg area
94.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Harrisonburg, VA
To Richmond
90 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.1% below the U.S. average in the Harrisonburg metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Spotswood High, about 8 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySentara Rmh Medical Center in Harrisonburg, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 90 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 Grottoes 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
$275,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Rockingham County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$840 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$100,291U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
81%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,424 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
94.9U.S. average = 100 (the Harrisonburg metro area)

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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Harrisonburg metro area, not Grottoes 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
3,0992020: 2,907
Median age
39.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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
Retail (19%); schools, health care and social services (18%); manufacturing (15%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sentara Rmh Medical Center, Harrisonburg, VA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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 Grottoes, run by Rockingham County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Spotswood High, about 8 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
78%U.S.: 76%
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
23°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
120 a year
Rain and melted snow
39 inches a year
Snow
19 inches a year
Elevation
1,103 feet

Weather stations: Waynesboro Wtp (13 miles away) and Dale Enterprise (14 miles away, rain and snow). 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 Rmh Medical Center, Harrisonburg, Richmond.

Rockingham County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Shenandoah National Park1 mile
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail6 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway16 miles
  • Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park56 miles
  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park57 miles

Read about Grottoes's history on Wikipedia.

Know Grottoes?

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

  • Port Republic, VA (unincorporated)510 people, 1 mile
  • Harriston, VA (unincorporated)1,212 people, 4 miles
  • New Hope, VA (unincorporated)900 people, 7 miles
  • Crimora, VA (unincorporated)1,252 people, 8 miles
  • Mount Sidney, VA (unincorporated)703 people, 8 miles
  • McGaheysville, VA (unincorporated)1,327 people, 9 miles
  • Mount Crawford, VA476 people, 9 miles
  • Keezletown, VA (unincorporated)706 people, 10 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.