Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Appalachia run?
Appalachia’s town government spent $709,000 on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $506 per resident. Water and other utilities ($342,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Appalachia is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $506 per resident a year, or $1.39 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 37%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison or trend for Appalachia yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample), and Appalachia’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars). It reported 2024 only (2022 is an estimate), so there is no trend yet either. The next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $692 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.03% of the home’s value, vs 0.73% across Virginia.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Appalachia’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Appalachia’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Appalachia →
Who’s in charge in Appalachia
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Appalachia’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The town posts agendas and minutes on townofappalachiava.us ↗.
One full-time town employee for every 127 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (1,401).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Wise County Public Schools
Appalachia’s K–12 school district, shared with Big Stone Gap, Coeburn, Pound, Wise, St. Paul. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,256 per pupil, $8,701 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Virginia districts overall: 49% local, 41% state, 10% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Appalachia’s votes are counted by county
Virginia reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Appalachia alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Wise County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican81.2%13,655 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat18.1%3,036 votesOthers: 0.7% (121 votes).
Most votes in Wise County: Donald J Trump
Virginia: Harris 51.8%, Trump 46.1%
100% of Appalachia lies in Wise County. Every 2024 race in Wise County is on the county’s page.
Wise County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Appalachia.
- 1Your townTown governmentOfficials: townofappalachiava.us ↗
- 2Virginia House of DelegatesState representatives
- 3Virginia SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Virginia
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Appalachia’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Appalachia’s government
How much does Appalachia spend per resident?
About $506 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Appalachia?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $692 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.03% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.73% across Virginia. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see townofappalachiava.us.
Who runs Appalachia’s government?
See townofappalachiava.us for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Appalachia yet.
How did Appalachia vote in 2024?
Virginia counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Appalachia alone. Wise County, where 100% of Appalachia lies, voted Trump 81.2%, Harris 18.1% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Appalachia?
11 full-time and 7 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $43,893 (about $526,716 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Appalachia in the state legislature?
State Senate District 6 (Todd Pillion) and House of Delegates District 45 (Terry Kilgore). The House of Delegates district also covers 14 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Appalachia’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →