Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,652, settled in 1880.
Dublin gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $252K, 3.8 years of the Blacksburg metro’s $66K median household income. It grades B overall, 151st among Virginia's 249 graded towns. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 11% of residents are under 18 in Dublin, where Virginia’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 22%. Dublin is home to New River Community College. Among 253 Virginia towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Dublin.
Where Dublin beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| New River Community College | 3,166 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Dublin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 285 in 1880, 2,682 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 4 maps from 1950 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dublin, 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 Dublin.
Dublin fares better on crime within Virginia than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Virginia.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 88% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Pulaski County Public Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 411 | C |
| Gateway Private School - Dublin PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 3–10 | Grades 3–10 | 13 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $1,055, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
41% of Dublin households own their home. Typical home values rose 5.2% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Dublin is $756 a month.
| Dublin | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $756 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,017 working residents takes 19.5 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
Most working residents leave Dublin for work: only 3% work in town. Dublin’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Dublin fell to 719 in 2023, 157 fewer than in 2013.
| Dublin | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 24.4°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 80% of Virginia places with climate records; July afternoons average 83.8°.
Dublin has chilly winters and pleasant summers. About 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Dublin | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 84°F | 88°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 26°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,498 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dublin’s, it is healthier than 65%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of adults binge drink in Dublin. Dublin beats the Virginia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 17% of adults smoke cigarettes in Dublin.
| Dublin | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Dublin | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 7.7% |
| More smokers | 17.2% | 12.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 17.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 82% of Virginia’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Dublin | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lions Club Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dublin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Park & preserveAppalachian Trail3.0M visitors a year
26 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
17 mi Stadium & arenaLane Stadium
20 mi LakeMountain Lake
6 mi MuseumGlencoe Museum
34 mi National park siteBluestone National Scenic River12K visitors a yearAppalachian Trail: Paulba. Original uploader was Paulbalegend at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Lane Stadium: User:B, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mountain Lake: Rolfmueller, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Glencoe Museum: Skye Marthaler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bluestone National Scenic River: Dave Bieri, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Dublin
About 3 of every 100 Dublin residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
Where Dublin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Dublin on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Dublin.
Town in Virginia, United States
Dublin is a town in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,682 as of the 2020 Decennial Census. It is part of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan area. The town was named after Dublin in Ireland. A local legend says that the town was named after New Dublin Presbyterian Church, which was in turn named after Dublin, Ireland. The town is located near the site of the Volvo Group Trucks Operations New River Valley Cab and Vehicle Assembly plant, and near the KORONA Candles Inc. factory. The New River Valley Regional Jail is located in Dublin, Virginia, and it serves the counties of Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Pulaski, Wythe, and the City of Radford, VA.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Dublin grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #151 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C+ for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
4 notable people were born here, including Ikey Robinson and Brandon Anderson.
