Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
McGaheysville’s best subject grade is an A− for history; its weakest is a C− for walkability. 9.3% of residents are 65 or older in McGaheysville, below both the Virginia town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Only 6 of the 254 Virginia towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than McGaheysville. Only 2 of Virginia’s 372 towns score lower on the outdoors. Cave Hill Farm is on the National Register of Historic Places. McGaheysville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where McGaheysville beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far McGaheysville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2024 and 4 maps from 1937 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around McGaheysville. Close and well known come first.
4 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
24 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
2 mi Ski areaMassanutten Resort22 runs · 1,064 ft vertical19 mi Scenic driveSkyline Drive
24 mi CaveLuray Caverns
26 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 · Massanutten Resort: Arbogastlw at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Skyline Drive: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Luray Caverns: Paulo Ordoveza from Washington, DC, CC BY 2.0 · Scott Stadium: Mak7912, CC BY-SA 3.0
McGaheysville is unincorporated, so Rockingham 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.
Ordered by what stands out in McGaheysville.
The top destinations are Harrisonburg (29%), Massanutten (8%) and Elkton (2%). McGaheysville had 108 jobs in 2023, up 38 from 2013. The typical household income for McGaheysville comes to $67,000. Half of commuters travel less than 10 miles.
| McGaheysville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Rockingham County Public Schools. McGaheysville’s only public school teaches 262 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McGaheysville ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 262 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
McGaheysville’s median age is 33 years. Children under 18 are just over a third of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 9% of residents (17% statewide). A bachelor’s degree or higher: 35% of adults 25 and older, vs 42% across Virginia.
| McGaheysville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 44% | 29% |
Somewhere between 56% and 82% women
The Census survey reached too few of McGaheysville’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±13 points. Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women.
| McGaheysville | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 20.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.8% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.3% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.6% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.8% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 17.1% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.4% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 5.7% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.5% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.6% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,300, single groups can be off by several points
Among adults in McGaheysville, 15% binge drink. Against the Virginia average, McGaheysville comes out ahead on 1 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1.
| McGaheysville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 16% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | McGaheysville | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.5% | 11.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 25° and about 19 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
73% of McGaheysville’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 9%. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 60% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For McGaheysville, the median rent is $1,456 a month. Home values are up 1.5% over the year to September 2026. In McGaheysville, nearly two thirds of households are owner-occupiers.
| McGaheysville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,456 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of McGaheysville
About 4 of every 100 McGaheysville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
Where McGaheysville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
McGaheysville ( mə-GAK-eez-vil) is a Census-designated place located in Rockingham County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located along U.S. Route 33 between Penn Laird and Elkton, and sits at the base of the Massanutten. As of the 2020 census, McGaheysville had a population of 978.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.8 years of the area's median household income ($75,065 across the Harrisonburg, VA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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