Lake CarolineVA
A town of 2,862.
Is Lake Caroline a good place to live?
Lake Caroline grades D overall, ranked 224th of 249 in Virginia. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. Lake Caroline’s average trip to work is 50 minutes, above both Virginia’s towns (27 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). On walkability, just 36 of Virginia’s 372 towns do worse. Lake Caroline has 7 places on the National Register.
Lake Caroline has grown 11% from 2010 to 2020
2,260 counted in 2010 and 2,511 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Lake Caroline grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Lake Caroline is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Lake Caroline: who provides what
Lake Caroline is unincorporated, so Caroline County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lake Caroline.
Lake Caroline sends most of its workers to Fredericksburg and beyond, but it has poverty well above the Virginia rate.
Most working residents commute out of Lake Caroline
Lake Caroline has 43 jobs for its 1,295 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 50.2 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
Most working residents leave Lake Caroline for work: only 0% work in town. 23% of Lake Caroline residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Lake Caroline fell to 43 in 2023, 222 fewer than in 2013.
| Lake Caroline | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.3% | 5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Lake Caroline, expect four seasons and hot summers
Lake Caroline has chilly winters and warm summers. Lake Caroline’s July high is 89°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Lake Caroline
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Residents of Lake Caroline are less healthy than 52% of U.S. towns
Lake Caroline beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 40% of adults have obesity in Lake Caroline.
| Lake Caroline | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lake Caroline | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.3% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Main Beach | — | 6 |
| 2. Little Beach | — | 2 |
| 3. Lake Caroline Basketball Court | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Kings Dominion and 35 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Caroline. Close and well known come first.
11 mi Theme parkKings Dominion
21 mi National MonumentGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument72K visitors a year
31 mi LandmarkHollywood Cemetery
30 mi LandmarkRobert E. Lee Monument
31 mi MuseumWhite House of the Confederacy
31 mi Stadium & arenaRichmond ColiseumPhoto credits
Kings Dominion: Erechtheus, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Washington Birthplace National Monument: National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain · Hollywood Cemetery: Andrew Bain, Public domain · Robert E. Lee Monument: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · White House of the Confederacy: AlbertHerring, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Richmond Coliseum: Mentes at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Everything we know about Lake Caroline
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Lake Caroline; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Lake Caroline residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
100% of working residents leave Lake Caroline for work
Where Lake Caroline’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Lake Caroline
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Lake Caroline is a census-designated place in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 2,511. It is a gated lakeside subdivision located approximately 2 miles (3 km) south of Ladysmith and 10 miles (16 km) north of Doswell. The CDP is bordered by U.S. Route 1 on the east, Cedar Fork Road on the south, and State Route 683 on the north.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 230 ft
Questions about Lake Caroline
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lake Caroline, VA a good place to live?
Lake Caroline grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #224 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B− for health and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Lake Caroline, VA expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.