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Towns / Virginia

Wise, Virginia

Wise is a small town of about 2,900 people in Wise County, Virginia. It's the county seat. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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, Knoxville, is about 103 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
2,853
down 3.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$144,700
Wise County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$53,596
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Virginia
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Big Stone Gap, VA
To Knoxville
103 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 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 15.5 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 Central High, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byLonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 103 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 Wise 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
$144,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Wise County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$825 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$53,596U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$935 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Virginia outside metro areas, not Wise 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
2,8532020: 2,969
Median age
36.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%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
Schools, health care and social services (28%); retail (17%); other services (12%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lonesome Pine Hospital, Big Stone Gap, VA, about 12 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Wise, run by Wise County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Central High, about 2 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Virginia's College at Wise (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
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
81°F
Days 90°F or hotter
1 a year
Nights at or below freezing
96 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.6 inches a year
Snow
47 inches a year
Elevation
2,444 feet

Weather station: Wise 1SE (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: Lonesome Pine Hospital, Kingsport, Knoxville.

Wise 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail46 miles
  • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park51 miles
  • Andrew Johnson National Historic Site58 miles

Campus life. Check University of Virginia's College at Wise's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Wise's history on Wikipedia.

Know Wise?

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

  • The University of Virginia's College at Wise, VA (unincorporated)489 people, 1 mile
  • Tacoma, VA (unincorporated)131 people, 4 miles
  • Riverview, VA (unincorporated)607 people, 6 miles
  • Dunbar, VA (unincorporated)115 people, 9 miles
  • Pound, VA836 people, 10 miles
  • Big Stone Gap East, VA (unincorporated)567 people, 11 miles
  • Stonega, VA (unincorporated)151 people, 12 miles
  • East Stone Gap, VA (unincorporated)683 people, 12 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.