The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.9% above the U.S. average in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.
- 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 neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
- Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Washington High School, about 5 miles away.
- A hospital close byJefferson Medical Center in Ranson, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 48 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 Shannondale 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
- $293,600U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 19%Jefferson County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,269 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $80,000U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 86%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $1,551 a yearWest Virginia: $865
- Homes built before 1940
- 0%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 11%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 6%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 108.9U.S. average = 100 (the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area, not Shannondale 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
- 3,465The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
- Median age
- 42.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 16%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 15%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 32%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 11%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
- Professional and business services (24%); schools, health care and social services (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
- Unemployment rate
- 6%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 49 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 15%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: Jefferson Medical Center, Ranson, WV, about 6 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.
Nearest general hospital: Inova Loudoun Hospital, Leesburg, VA, about 20 miles away. Medicare gives it 5 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
There are no public schools inside Shannondale itself. The nearest public high school is Washington High School, about 5 miles away.
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on West 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 any internet subscription
- 99%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
- 30 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 115 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 40.7 inches a year
- Snow
- 23 inches a year
- Elevation
- 559 feet
Weather stations: Purcellville (7 miles away) and Winchester (18 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: Jefferson Medical Center, Frederick, Washington.
Jefferson County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail1 mile
- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park5 miles
- Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park9 miles
- Antietam National Battlefield16 miles
- Monocacy National Battlefield24 miles
Read about Shannondale's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Charles, WV9,300 people, 5 miles
- Purcellville, VA8,900 people, 7 miles
- Ranson, WV6,900 people, 8 miles
- Lovettsville, VA2,700 people, 10 miles
- Berryville, VA4,800 people, 10 miles
- Brunswick, MD9,400 people, 12 miles
Smaller places
- Hillsboro, VA112 people, 5 miles
- Shenandoah Retreat, VA (unincorporated)592 people, 6 miles
- Round Hill, VA702 people, 6 miles
- Bolivar, WV983 people, 8 miles
- Harpers Ferry, WV266 people, 9 miles
- Hamilton, VA608 people, 10 miles
- Shenandoah Junction, WV (unincorporated)1,141 people, 10 miles
- Sandy Hook, MD (unincorporated)165 people, 10 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.