Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Big Stone Gap gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $148K for a typical one, or 2.8 years of the county’s $53K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 182nd of 249 graded towns in Virginia. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $55K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 88% of the country. On the plus side, its schools outperform 97% of the state's. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Big Stone Gap, against 7.7% in Virginia’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 13 of Virginia’s 372 towns score lower on hazard risk. Big Stone Gap has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park and "June Tolliver" House.
Where Big Stone Gap beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,617 in 1900, 5,254 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1946 and 6 maps from 1922 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Big Stone Gap is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Big Stone Gap, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Big Stone Gap.
Big Stone Gap has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Virginia (mostly inland flooding) and has poverty well above the Virginia rate.
At 2.8 years of the county’s $53K median household income, the typical home (about $148K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,013, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Big Stone Gap’s median rent is $797 a month. The typical Big Stone Gap home is worth about $148,000, up 1.4% in a year, 64% below the Virginia typical home. 63% of households own their home in Big Stone Gap.
| Big Stone Gap | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $797 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 63% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
44% of Big Stone Gap adults have obesity. Big Stone Gap beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 41% of Big Stone Gap adults have high blood pressure.
| Big Stone Gap | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 33% |
| What stands out | Big Stone Gap | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 18.9% | 12.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.2% | 6.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10.3% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Virginia towns, with expected losses of about $491 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Big Stone Gap is 78 of 100. Since 1979, 47 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Big Stone Gap.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bullitt Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Frog Level Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Carnes Gym Field | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Big Stone Gap has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 26° and about 9 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,611 working residents takes 18.7 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
Most working residents leave Big Stone Gap for work: only 18% work in town. Since 2013, Big Stone Gap has lost 336 jobs, to 2,358 in 2023. The top destinations are Wise (11%), Norton (9%) and Kingsport (4%).
| Big Stone Gap | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 4.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Virginia, it does better than 75% of towns.
| Big Stone Gap | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.5 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3 within 15 miles of the center of Big Stone Gap
About 1 of every 100 Big Stone Gap residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
8 places in Big Stone Gap on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Big Stone Gap.
Town in Virginia, United States
Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,254 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Big Stone Gap.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Stone Gap | #182 | C+ | B | B− | A+ | D |
| Big Stone Gap East | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Big Stone Gap East isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Big Stone Gap with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Big Stone Gap grades C+ overall, better than 43% of U.S. towns and #182 of 249 in Virginia. It grades D for health, B− for safety and A+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Virginia, it does better than 75% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
9 notable people were born here, including A. Linwood Holton, Jr. and Thomas Jones.
