Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Chilhowie’s best subject grade is a B+ for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for incomes. Chilhowie’s midpoint rent is $802 a month, against $1,762 a month in Virginia’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 10 of Virginia’s 138 towns do worse. Chilhowie has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Chilhowie Methodist Episcopal Church and Downtown Chilhowie Historic District. Chilhowie has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Chilhowie beats most towns.
Chilhowie Methodist Episcopal ChurchWhere Chilhowie’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Chilhowie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 572 in 1920, 1,654 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 4 maps from 1935 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chilhowie, 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 Chilhowie.
Half of commuters travel less than 15 miles. Jobs based in Chilhowie fell to 1,234 in 2023, 163 fewer than in 2013. Just nearly a tenth of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Its income of the median household stands at $51,000.
| Chilhowie | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.9% | 4.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Public schools: the Smyth County Public Schools. The largest public high school is Chilhowie High, with 384 students. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chilhowie MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 273 | B |
| Chilhowie HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 384 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 3.6%. 67% of households live in a home they own in Chilhowie, where Virginia’s towns sit at 68% and U.S. towns at 73%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Chilhowie: 23% of adults say their health is fair or poor. Of 32 CDC measures, Chilhowie beats the Virginia average on 1 and trails it on 13. Among adults in the town, 41% have high blood pressure and 15% have diabetes.
| Chilhowie | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 33% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Chilhowie | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.1% | 76.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Chilhowie, the level of property crime is 16.9 per 1,000 residents. Its rate of reported violence comes in at 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Chilhowie | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.9 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
A winter brings about 10 inches of snow, with January nights at 24° and July afternoons at 84°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The trail network density for Chilhowie comes to 0.9 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Chilhowie after 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2025. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 22 claims in the town since 1979. FEMA puts nearly half of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 40% to cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chilhowie. Close and well known come first.
35 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
12 mi MountainMount Rogers
15 mi State parkGrayson Highlands State Park
31 mi National forestCherokee National Forest
17 mi TheatreBarter TheatreBlue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Mount Rogers: USDA-FS, Public domain · Grayson Highlands State Park: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Cherokee National Forest: Ryan Rice at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barter Theatre: RebelAt (talk) (Uploads), Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Chilhowie
About 3 of every 100 Chilhowie residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
4 places in Chilhowie on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Chilhowie.
Town in Virginia, United States
Chilhowie is a town in Smyth County, Virginia, United States, on the Middle Fork of the Holston River. As of the 2020 census, Chilhowie had a population of 1,654. The name Chilhowie is said to come from a Cherokee word meaning "valley of many deer". It is also notable for having only one traffic light in the entire city. I-81 runs through Chilhowie. It is located at exit 35.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.9 years of the area's median household income ($49,883 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
3 notable people were born here, including Eric McClure and William F. McKee.
