Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Dayton’s subject grades is an A+ for history; the weakest is a D for walkability. Dayton’s average trip to work is 16 minutes, against 27 minutes in Virginia’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On walkability, just 37 of Virginia’s 372 towns do worse. Only 5 of Virginia’s 371 towns score higher on history. Dayton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Dayton beats most towns.
Where Dayton’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 Dayton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 258 in 1880, 1,688 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 5 maps from 1941 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dayton, 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 Dayton.
Most working residents leave Dayton for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Dayton has added 1,658 jobs, to 2,010 in 2023. 7.7% of Dayton workers work from home, where Virginia’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 11%.
| Dayton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.7% | 17% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Rockingham County Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilbur S. Pence MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 671 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Dayton beats the Virginia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 32% of Dayton adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Dayton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Dayton | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.6% | 7.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.8% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Dayton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 24° and about 19 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Dayton since 1996.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dayton's reported crime rate is well below Virginia's. The property crime rate in Dayton is 5.1 per 1,000 residents. 4 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Dayton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.1 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Dayton home is worth about $365,000, up 1.6% in a year, 11% below the Virginia typical home. Dayton’s median rent is $1,074 a month.
| Dayton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,074 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Virginia average. Dayton has grown 6.4% since 2020, to 1,791 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 39% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Dayton.
| Dayton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 44% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 23% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5 points. Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Dayton | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.2% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.3% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.7% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.6% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.8% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.8% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.7% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dayton. Close and well known come first.
13 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
27 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
30 mi CaveLuray Caverns28 mi Scenic driveSkyline Drive
7 mi National forestGeorge Washington and Jefferson National Forests
35 mi Stadium & arenaScott StadiumShenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Luray Caverns: Paulo Ordoveza from Washington, DC, CC BY 2.0 · Skyline Drive: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Washington and Jefferson National Forests: Aneta Kaluzna, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Scott Stadium: Mak7912, CC BY-SA 3.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Dayton
About 3 of every 100 Dayton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
1,530 counted in 2010 and 1,688 in 2020; an estimated 1,791 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Dayton on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Virginia, United States
Dayton is a town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. The population is 1,688 as of the 2020 census. It is included in the Harrisonburg metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
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