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Towns / Virginia

South Hill, Virginia

South Hill is a small town of about 4,900 people in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 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 66 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,889
up 4.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$242,700
Mecklenburg County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$66,023
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Community Memorial Hospital
To Richmond
66 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 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood24 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 28.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Mecklenburg County High, about 10 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCommunity Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 66 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 South Hill 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
$242,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Mecklenburg County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,132 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$66,023U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,739 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
5%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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not South Hill 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
4,8892020: 4,690
Median age
47.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
26%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

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 (29%); retail (24%); manufacturing (8%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%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: Community Memorial Hospital, South Hill, VA, in town. 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

1 public school in South Hill, run by Mecklenburg County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Mecklenburg County High, about 10 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
63%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
29°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
59 a year
Nights at or below freezing
80 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.4 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
440 feet

Weather stations: John H Kerr Dam (13 miles away) and Alberta 5 N (20 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Rocky Mount, Richmond.

Mecklenburg County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the South Hill Commercial Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Petersburg National Battlefield39 miles
  • Appomattox Court House National Historical Park58 miles
  • Richmond National Battlefield Park59 miles

Read about South Hill's history on Wikipedia.

Know South Hill?

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

  • La Crosse, VA605 people, 3 miles
  • Brodnax, VA285 people, 6 miles
  • Union Level, VA (unincorporated)143 people, 6 miles
  • Baskerville, VA (unincorporated)178 people, 8 miles
  • Bracey, VA (unincorporated)1,242 people, 10 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.