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Towns / Virginia

Lake of the Woods, Virginia

Lake of the Woods is an unincorporated community of about 8,000 people in Orange County, Virginia. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 3.7 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, Washington, is about 56 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
7,984
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$399,300
Orange County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$109,153
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Fredericksburg, VA
To Washington
56 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 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Riverbend High, about 10 miles away.
  • A hospital close byMary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 56 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 Lake of the Woods 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
$399,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Orange County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,765 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$109,153U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
96%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,310 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%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 Lake of the Woods 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
7,984The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
52.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
34%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
46%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%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 (24%); construction (16%); professional and business services (15%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
45 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, VA, about 15 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

1 public school in Lake of the Woods, run by Orange County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Riverbend High, about 10 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
89%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
96%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
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
41 a year
Nights at or below freezing
101 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.4 inches a year
Snow
11 inches a year
Elevation
370 feet

Weather station: Fredericksburg Sewage (17 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: Mary Washington Hospital, Alexandria, Washington.

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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Parkright here
  • George Washington Birthplace National Monument17 miles
  • Prince William Forest Park23 miles
  • Richmond National Battlefield Park31 miles
  • Shenandoah National Park32 miles

Read about Lake of the Woods's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lake of the Woods?

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

  • Rhoadesville, VA (unincorporated)207 people, 10 miles
  • Unionville, VA (unincorporated)262 people, 13 miles
  • Brandy Station, VA (unincorporated)237 people, 13 miles
  • Remington, VA649 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.