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Towns / Virginia

Middletown, Virginia

Middletown is a small town of about 1,500 people in Frederick County, Virginia. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.5 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 68 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,471
up 8.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$331,600
Frederick County prices up 16% since 2022
Household income
$60,288
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Winchester area
96.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Front Royal, VA
To Washington
68 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.5% below the U.S. average in the Winchester metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Strasburg High, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byWarren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 68 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 Middletown 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
$331,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 16%Frederick County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$798 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$60,288U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,402 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
17%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96.5U.S. average = 100 (the Winchester 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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Winchester metro area, not Middletown 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
1,4712020: 1,359
Median age
38.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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
Retail (26%); construction (14%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Warren Memorial Hospital, Front Royal, VA, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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 Middletown, run by Frederick County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Strasburg High, about 5 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Laurel Ridge Community College (5,000 to 9,999 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.

Weather

January average low
21°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
20 a year
Nights at or below freezing
126 a year
Rain and melted snow
40.1 inches a year
Snow
25 inches a year
Elevation
729 feet

Weather station: Star Tannery (10 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: Warren Memorial Hospital, Harrisonburg, Washington.

Frederick 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

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove, Fort Bowman, the Middletown Historic District and the Thorndale Farm. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Parkright here
  • Shenandoah National Park9 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail12 miles
  • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park32 miles
  • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park35 miles

Read about Middletown's history on Wikipedia.

Know Middletown?

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

  • Shenandoah Shores, VA (unincorporated)611 people, 9 miles
  • Toms Brook, VA285 people, 10 miles
  • Apple Mountain Lake, VA (unincorporated)1,671 people, 12 miles
  • Maurertown, VA (unincorporated)1,092 people, 12 miles
  • Skyland Estates, VA (unincorporated)620 people, 12 miles
  • Boyce, VA794 people, 13 miles
  • Chester Gap, VA (unincorporated)726 people, 15 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.