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Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is a small city of about 28,000 people in Winchester city, Virginia. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.4 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 65 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
28,272
up 1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$343,000
Winchester city prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$63,974
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Winchester area
96.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Winchester Medical Center
To Washington
65 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 5.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood62 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 21.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town20 public schools: 12 elementary, 5 middle and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close byWinchester Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 65 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 Winchester 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
$343,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Winchester city, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,315 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$63,974U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
44%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,591 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
18%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Winchester metro area, not Winchester 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
28,2722020: 28,003
Median age
36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
31%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%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 (25%); professional and business services (14%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
21%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Winchester Medical Center, Winchester, 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

20 public schools in Winchester, run by Frederick County Public Schools and Winchester City Public Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Shenandoah University (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
73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
23 a year
Nights at or below freezing
101 a year
Rain and melted snow
40.7 inches a year
Snow
23 inches a year
Elevation
755 feet

Weather station: Winchester (2 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: Frederick, Washington.

Winchester city 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

23 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Patsy Cline House, the Kernstown Battlefield Historic District, the Opequon Historic District and Winchester Historic District (Boundary Increase). 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 Park10 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail15 miles
  • Shenandoah National Park18 miles
  • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park22 miles
  • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park25 miles

Campus life. Check Shenandoah University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Winchester's history on Wikipedia.

Know Winchester?

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

  • Brucetown, VA (unincorporated)250 people, 8 miles
  • Boyce, VA794 people, 8 miles
  • Lake Holiday, VA (unincorporated)2,193 people, 12 miles
  • Middleway, WV (unincorporated)479 people, 14 miles
  • Shenandoah Shores, VA (unincorporated)611 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.