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Towns / Virginia

Louisa, Virginia

Louisa is a small town of about 2,200 people in Louisa County, Virginia. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 13% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.3 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 44 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seat

Population
2,244
up 13% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$344,100
Louisa County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$65,132
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
24 miles
Charlottesville, VA
To Richmond
44 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 5.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Louisa County High, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, about 24 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 44 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 Louisa 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.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 13% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$344,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Louisa County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,207 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$65,132U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
43%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,953 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not Louisa 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
2,2442020: 1,993
Median age
41.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
33%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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 (26%); retail (12%); finance, insurance and real estate (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%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 24 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

3 public schools in Louisa, run by Louisa County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Louisa County High, about 4 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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
33 a year
Nights at or below freezing
110 a year
Rain and melted snow
44.2 inches a year
Snow
16 inches a year
Elevation
418 feet

Weather station: Louisa (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

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, Richmond.

Louisa County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Bright Hope Baptist Church and Cemetery.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park23 miles
  • Richmond National Battlefield Park26 miles
  • George Washington Birthplace National Monument35 miles
  • Shenandoah National Park35 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail36 miles

Read about Louisa's history on Wikipedia.

Know Louisa?

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

  • Mineral, VA532 people, 5 miles
  • Blue Ridge Shores, VA (unincorporated)918 people, 6 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.