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Towns / Virginia

Orange, Virginia

Orange is a small town of about 5,400 people in Orange County, Virginia. It's the county seat. It has grown about 10% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.6 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 60 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
5,365
up 9.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$273,300
Orange County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$76,370
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Culpeper, VA
To Richmond
60 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 3.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood12 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 14.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUVA Health Culpeper Medical Center in Culpeper, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 60 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 Orange 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
$273,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Orange County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,103 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$76,370U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
49%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,683 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
13%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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not Orange 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
5,3652020: 4,898
Median age
38.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%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
10%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 (30%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center, Culpeper, VA, about 15 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

3 public schools in Orange, run by Orange County Public Schools.

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
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
26 a year
Nights at or below freezing
92 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.7 inches a year
Snow
16 inches a year
Elevation
527 feet

Weather station: Piedmont Rsch Stn (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: UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center, Harrisonburg, Richmond.

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

18 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Montpelier, Old Manse and the Orange Commercial Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Shenandoah National Park19 miles
  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park19 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail23 miles
  • George Washington Birthplace National Monument36 miles
  • Richmond National Battlefield Park38 miles

Read about Orange's history on Wikipedia.

Know Orange?

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

  • Unionville, VA (unincorporated)262 people, 7 miles
  • Rhoadesville, VA (unincorporated)207 people, 10 miles
  • Barboursville, VA (unincorporated)694 people, 11 miles
  • Blue Ridge Shores, VA (unincorporated)918 people, 11 miles
  • Madison, VA211 people, 12 miles
  • Brightwood, VA (unincorporated)1,325 people, 12 miles
  • Ruckersville, VA (unincorporated)1,399 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.