Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fries Boarding Houses is on the National Register of Historic Places. Fries has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Fries beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 1,775 in 1910, a peak of 2,205 in 1930, 450 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 4 maps from 1933 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fries, 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 Fries.
A typical home in Fries is worth about $152,000, up 5.7% in a year, 63% below the Virginia typical home. Three quarters of households are owner-occupiers in the town, where Virginia’s towns sit at 68% and U.S. towns at 73%.
| Fries | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $333 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its one school is below. The public schools here belong to the Grayson County Public Schools. Enrollment at Fries’s public school: 231 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fries ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–7 | Grades PK–7 | 231 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts
Half of commuters travel less than 12 miles. For residents in Fries, the share who live below the poverty line is 17%. Commuting out is the norm locally: 1% of working residents work locally. The average trip to work locally is 23 minutes.
| Fries | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $33,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1% | 4.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Trails run 0.6 miles in 1 park or preserve. For Fries, the trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: one, of 13 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. New River Trail State Park | — | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Households in Fries have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2024. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in the town than in just over three fifths of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Fries break down as 51% from cold waves and 35% from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No town among the 254 in Virginia we compare has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Fries. CDC measures, 32 in all: Fries beats Virginia on 2 and trails on 16. Only 5 of the 254 Virginia towns we compare have a higher share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Fries. 47% of Fries adults have high blood pressure.
| Fries | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Fries | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 14.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.9% | 76.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 14% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Fries; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Fries residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
Where Fries’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Virginia, United States
Fries (pronounced "freeze") is an incorporated town located on the New River in Grayson County, Virginia, United States, 15.5 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of the county seat of Independence — in Virginia's Blue Ridge Highlands and on Virginia's musical heritage trail, The Crooked Road. As of the 2020 census, Fries had a population of 450. Named after prominent cotton mill owner, Francis Henry Fries, the town is noted as the former site of Washington Mill (1903–1989); as one of three end points of the New River Trail State Park and as the host of annual music festivals reflecting its strong bluegrass and country music traditions — with its August Old-Time Fiddlers' and Bluegrass Conventio…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fries has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
