Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,075, settled in 1818.
Lebanon gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $205K, 4.1 years of the county’s $50K median household income. It grades B− overall, 181st among Virginia's 249 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its police reported 4 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. Lebanon’s median rent is $621 a month, below both the Virginia town median ($1,764 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Lebanon has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Stephen B. Quillen House and Samuel Gilmer House. Only 9 of the 253 Virginia towns we compare have a lower July high than Lebanon.
Where Lebanon beats most towns.
Where Lebanon’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 Lebanon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 264 in 1860, 3,159 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 6 maps from 1918 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lebanon, 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 Lebanon.
Lebanon draws workers from Bristol and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
8.3 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Lebanon is 1.7 miles per square mile.
| Lebanon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.7 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. J.S. Easterly Park | 0.6 mi | 19 |
| 2. Lebanon Town Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Russell County Public Schools. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lebanon High, with 571 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–7 | Grades 5–7 | 301 | B− |
| Lebanon HighLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 571 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
3,263 jobs are based in Lebanon, 2.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Lebanon’s working residents works in town. 18% of Lebanon residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Lebanon has lost 754 jobs, to 3,263 in 2023.
| Lebanon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median property tax bill is $722, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 5.3% in the year to September 2026. 61% of households own their home in Lebanon.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 87 to 68 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Lebanon’s property crime rate is 20.8 per 1,000 residents. Lebanon reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less.
| Lebanon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.8 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,800 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lebanon’s, it is healthier than 57%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Lebanon beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11.
| Lebanon | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lebanon | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.2% | 6.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15% | 11.1% |
| More smokers | 16% | 12.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lebanon has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 25° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lebanon
About 1 of every 100 Lebanon residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
2 places in Lebanon on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Lebanon.
Town in Virginia, United States
Lebanon is a town in Russell County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lebanon had a population of 3,159. It is the county seat of Russell County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lebanon grades B− overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #181 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Orlando Early and Butch Robins.
