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Towns / Virginia

Pennington Gap, Virginia

Pennington Gap is a small town of about 1,600 people in Lee County, Virginia. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.3 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, Knoxville, is about 74 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,568
down 2.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$92,900
U.S.: $332,700
Household income
$21,633
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Lee County Community Hospital
To Knoxville
74 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 4.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Lee High, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byLee County Community Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 74 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 Pennington Gap 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
$92,900U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities
$766 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$21,633U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
43%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$681 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not Pennington Gap 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
1,5682020: 1,609
Median age
34.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
33%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
14%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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%)
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lee County Community Hospital, Pennington Gap, VA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Harlan Arh Hospital, Harlan, KY, about 16 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Pennington Gap, run by Lee County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Lee 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
59%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%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
23°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
15 a year
Nights at or below freezing
120 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.7 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
1,517 feet

Weather station: Pennington Gap (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: Kingsport, Knoxville.

Lee 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Pennington Gap Commercial Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park22 miles
  • Andrew Johnson National Historic Site43 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail51 miles

Read about Pennington Gap's history on Wikipedia.

Know Pennington Gap?

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

  • Dryden, VA (unincorporated)823 people, 5 miles
  • Jonesville, VA843 people, 7 miles
  • Stickleyville, VA (unincorporated)143 people, 7 miles
  • Kenvir, KY (unincorporated)358 people, 9 miles
  • Keokee, VA (unincorporated)174 people, 10 miles
  • Cawood, KY (unincorporated)596 people, 11 miles
  • Evarts, KY596 people, 11 miles
  • Ages, KY (unincorporated)385 people, 13 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.