Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

2024 Population

181,664

US Senator

Mark Warner

Democratic Party

US Senator

Tim Kaine

Democratic Party

2024 Median Age

35.1

0.573% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

19.7%

0.807% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$65,839

1.88% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

Population & Diversity

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is home to a population of 182k people, from which 96.2% are citizens.

As of 2024, 6.03% of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA residents were born outside of the country (10.9k people).

In 2024, there were 20 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (154k people) in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 7.69k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 7.02k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

96.2%

2024 Citizenship

96.5%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 96.2% of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA was 96.5%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA

White (Non-Hispanic)
154k ± 437
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
7.69k ± 386
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
7.02k ± 377

3.77%

Hispanic Population

6.84k people

3.77% of the people in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA are hispanic (6.84k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Virginia.

Most Common Origin

El Salvador
108,778 ± 8,047 people
India
98,440 ± 7,659 people
Mexico
58,677 ± 5,927 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Virginia was El Salvador, the natal country of 108,778 Virginia residents, followed by India with 98,440 and Mexico with 58,677.

Foreign-Born Population

6.03%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

10.9k people

5.91%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

10.7k people

As of 2024, 6.03% of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA residents (10.9k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA was 5.91%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
2,556 ± 292
Gulf War (2001-)
1,752 ± 321
Gulf War (1990s)
1,435 ± 305

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.46 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA.

Health

94.7% of the population of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA has health coverage, with 56.3% on employee plans, 11.4% on Medicaid, 14.2% on Medicare, 11.3% on non-group plans, and 1.61% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Virginia see 1,341 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,341 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1329 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 379 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.1% were men and 49.9% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Virginia.

1,341 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Virginia

Primary care physicians in Virginia see an average of 1,341 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,341 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Virginia in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 20.5% under 18 years, 29.7% between 18 and 34 years, 33.2% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.6% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.1% were men and 49.9% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

5.3%

Uninsured

56.3%

Employer Coverage

11.4%

Medicaid

14.2%

Medicare

11.3%

Non-Group

1.61%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA declined by 6.55% from 5.67% to 5.3%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Economy

The economy of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA employs 85.5k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA were Educational Services (17,605 people), Manufacturing (11,553 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (9,716 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($80,966), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($64,601), and Utilities ($62,250).

Employment

Occupations

85.5k

2024 Value

± 2,339

−0.0795%

1 Year decline

± 3.88%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA declined at a rate of −0.0795%, from 85.6k employees to 85.5k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, are Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (9,555 people), Sales & Related Occupations (7,808 people), and Management Occupations (7,628 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Virginia.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Virginia (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

85.5k

2024 Value

± 2,339

−0.0795%

1 Year decline

± 3.88%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA declined at a rate of −0.0795%, from 85.6k employees to 85.5k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, are Educational Services (17,605 people), Manufacturing (11,553 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (9,716 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, though some of these residents may live in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$47,946

Median earning men ± $1,532

$35,859

Median earning women ± $1,735

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Information ($77,611), Manufacturing ($61,508), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($60,159).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($53,309), Manufacturing ($49,295), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($44,619).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Virginia.

Y-Axis

2.48%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 4.1M people employed in Virginia. This represents a 2.48% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.8%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Virginia.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

297
Other Services (except Public Administration)
230
Retail Trade
228
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$933k
Manufacturing
$457k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$304k
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

The student population of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA in 2024 is skewed towards men, with 27,746 male students and 25,794 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA are White (8,891 and 67.7%), Asian (1,408 and 10.7%), Hispanic or Latino (1,114 and 8.48%), and Black or African American (827 and 6.29%).

The largest universities in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA by number of degrees awarded are Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (10,849 and 75.3%), Radford University (1,911 and 13.3%), and New River Community College (1,043 and 7.24%).

The most popular majors in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA are General Computer & Information Sciences (819 and 5.68%), Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (612 and 4.25%), and Management Science (542 and 3.76%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $10,840 for in-state students and $27,764 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 60.8%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 22.6%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 53,540 (51.8% men and 48.2% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 53,540 students enrolled in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, 51.8% men and 48.2% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 31,176 records, of which 50.5% were women and 49.5% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Management Science
542 degrees awarded
General Computer & Information Sciences
517 degrees awarded
General Finance
368 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA was Management Science with 542 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
10,849 degrees awarded
Radford University
1,911 degrees awarded
New River Community College
1,043 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with 10,849 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 7,473 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, which is 1.08 times more than the 6,942 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 8,891 degrees mean that there were 6.31 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Asian, with 1,408 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($10,840) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($3,408) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 2-year ($2,000) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA was $240,900 in 2024, which is 0.724 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $228,400 to $240,900, a 5.47% increase. The homeownership rate in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is 62.9%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA have an average commute time of 21.2 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$240,900

Median Property Value 2024

±$6,059

$44,239

Median Property Taxes

±$1,490

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $800 - $1,499 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

62.9%

Homeownership

2024

67.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 62.9% of the housing units in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 62.5%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$65,839

Median Household Income

± $2,266

70.3k

Number of Households

± 1,997

In 2024, the median household income of the 70.3k households in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA grew to $65,839 from the previous year's value of $64,627.

The following chart displays the households in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is from Virginia.

0.47

2024 Wage GINI in Virginia

0.472

2023 Wage GINI in Virginia

In 2024, the income inequality in Virginia was 0.47 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.376% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Virginia was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Virginia in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Virginia across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (73.8%)
Worked At Home (10.6%)
Carpooled (7.39%)

In 2024, 73.8% of workers in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (10.6%) and those who carpooled to work (7.39%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

21.2 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA have a shorter commute time (21.2 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.16% of the workforce in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

19.7% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA (32.8k out of 166k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 18 - 24, followed by Females 18 - 24 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is White, followed by Black and Asian.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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