Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Mount Jackson’s subject grades is an A for history; the weakest is a D for health. Only 23 of Virginia’s 372 towns score lower on hazard risk. The median household income is $52K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. Among 254 Virginia towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Mount Jackson. On history, just 23 of Virginia’s 371 towns do better. Mount Jackson has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Mount Jackson beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 560 in 1860, a low of 270 in 1870, 1,961 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 3 maps from 1942 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Mount Jackson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Jackson, 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 Mount Jackson.
Most working residents leave Mount Jackson for work: only 17% work in town. At $52,000, Mount Jackson’s median household income is below both the Virginia town median ($102,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Jobs based in Mount Jackson grew to 1,721 in 2023, 710 more than in 2013.
| Mount Jackson | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 4.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triplett Business & Tech.Largest public school before high school | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Mount Jackson beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 17% of Mount Jackson adults report frequent physical distress, above both Virginia’s towns (12%) and U.S. towns (14%). 34% of adults get no exercise outside work in Mount Jackson.
| Mount Jackson | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 23% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Mount Jackson | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 15.1% | 8.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 10% | 6.2% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 20.5% | 13.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1994, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mount Jackson.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Mount Jackson home is worth about $322,000, up 2.6% in a year, 22% below the Virginia typical home. The median rent in Mount Jackson is $984 a month.
| Mount Jackson | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $984 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mount Jackson has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.5 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Mount Jackson’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Mount Jackson | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Jackson Community Park | — | 5 |
| 2. Mayors Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among 87 Virginia towns, just 7 have a lower violent crime rate than Mount Jackson.
| Mount Jackson | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.3 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Jackson. Close and well known come first.
14 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
10 mi CaveLuray Caverns17 mi Scenic driveSkyline Drive
25 mi National forestGeorge Washington and Jefferson National Forests39 mi CaveHellhole28 mi Zoo & aquariumSmithsonian Conservation Biology InstituteShenandoah National Park: 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 · Skyline Drive: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Washington and Jefferson National Forests: Aneta Kaluzna, CC BY-SA 2.5
None within 15 miles of Mount Jackson; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Mount Jackson residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
Where Mount Jackson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Mount Jackson on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Virginia, United States
Mount Jackson is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Mount Jackson had a population of 1,961. For highway travelers passing by, Mount Jackson is easily identified from I-81 exit 273 by the water tower painted as a basket of apples, which was recently repainted. For those exploring off the highway, the town has history as a commercial and railroad hub in the region, with rich Civil War heritage and a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4.8 years of the area's median household income ($67,191 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
_(2).jpg){kind=link}
