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Martinsville, Virginia

Martinsville is a small town of about 13,800 people in Martinsville city, Virginia. It's the county seat. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.1 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, Raleigh, is about 90 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
13,849
up 2.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$98,400
Martinsville city prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$46,727
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Eden, NC
To Raleigh
90 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 2.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood75 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 14.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town11 public schools: 6 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 2 other.
  • A hospital close byUNC Rockingham in Eden, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRaleigh 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 Martinsville 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
$98,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Martinsville city, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$808 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$46,727U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
55%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$760 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%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 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not Martinsville 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
13,8492020: 13,478
Median age
38.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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 (22%); retail (14%); manufacturing (14%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UNC Rockingham, Eden, NC, about 15 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

11 public schools in Martinsville, run by Martinsville City Public Schools and Henry County Public Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Patrick & Henry 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
24°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
28 a year
Nights at or below freezing
119 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.4 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
1,037 feet

Weather station: Martinsville Fltr Plt (1 mile 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: UNC Rockingham, Greensboro, Raleigh.

Martinsville city is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Martinsville Historic District (Additional Documentation), Martinsville Historic District (Boundary Decrease) and Martinsville Historic District (Boundary Increase).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Blue Ridge Parkway24 miles
  • Booker T. Washington National Monument30 miles
  • Guilford Courthouse National Military Park38 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail48 miles

Read about Martinsville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Martinsville?

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

  • Villa Heights, VA (unincorporated)601 people, 2 miles
  • Chatmoss, VA (unincorporated)1,563 people, 3 miles
  • Laurel Park, VA (unincorporated)553 people, 4 miles
  • Fieldale, VA (unincorporated)783 people, 5 miles
  • Horse Pasture, VA (unincorporated)2,236 people, 6 miles
  • Stanleytown, VA (unincorporated)1,386 people, 7 miles
  • Ridgeway, VA732 people, 7 miles
  • Bassett, VA (unincorporated)1,031 people, 9 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.