North ShoreVA
A town of 3,638.
Is North Shore a good place to live?
North Shore grades C+ overall, ranked 185th of 249 in Virginia, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 80% of Virginia towns on state tests and graduation. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 76% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 45% of residents are 65 or older in North Shore, above both the Virginia town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). No town among the 253 in Virginia we compare has a higher median age than North Shore. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns.
97% of working residents leave North Shore for work
Where North Shore’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How North Shore grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far North Shore is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to North Shore: who provides what
North Shore is unincorporated, so Franklin 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 North Shore.
North Shore is a second-home town, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Virginia (mostly inland flooding) and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Virginia.
North Shore stands out in Virginia and nationally, with fewer of its residents who are under 18
42.9% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 2% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
9.7% of North Shore residents are under 18. People 65 and older are 45% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 7% of residents (23% statewide). 44% of North Shore adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| North Shore | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 9.7% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 44% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1 point). Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 63.9, men 60.5.
| North Shore | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 2.7% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.7% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.4% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.1% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 29.4% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 15.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.5% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.6% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.1% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.6% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,600, single groups can be off by several points
Most working residents commute out of North Shore
North Shore has 264 jobs for its 1,006 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 29.3% of workers work from home, against 18.3% across Virginia.
Most working residents leave North Shore for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in North Shore is 31 minutes. The top destinations are Roanoke (18%), Rocky Mount (9%) and Westlake Corner (9%).
| North Shore | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $110,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.1% | 5% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The FEMA risk score in North Shore is higher than in most of Virginia or the rest of the country
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Virginia towns, with expected losses of about $376 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Among 253 Virginia towns, just 5 have a higher FEMA risk score than North Shore.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
North Shore ranks healthier than 66% of the country’s towns
Against the 7,144 U.S. towns with household incomes like North Shore’s, it is less healthy than 60%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
North Shore beats the Virginia average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 46% of adults have high blood pressure in North Shore. Of the 253 Virginia towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who feel lonely than North Shore.
| North Shore | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 33% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 34% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 79% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | North Shore | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.5% | 10.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.7% | 7.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in North Shore
North Shore has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 27° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.3% of North Shore is conserved land
5.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Smith Mountain Lake Community Park, 39 acres with 2.1 miles of trail.
| North Shore | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Smith Mountain Lake Community Park | 2.1 mi | 39 |
| 2. Scruggs Boat Launch | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
A home in North Shore sells for about $624K at the median
At 7.3 years of the Roanoke metro’s $69K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 93% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
North Shore’s median rent is $1,133 a month.
| North Shore | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 94% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,133 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Blue Ridge Parkway and 11 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Shore. Close and well known come first.
16 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
7 mi LakeSmith Mountain Lake
18 mi LandmarkNational D-Day Memorial
5 mi National MonumentBooker T. Washington National Monument22K visitors a year
21 mi MuseumVirginia Museum of Transportation
21 mi MuseumTaubman Museum of ArtPhoto credits
Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Smith Mountain Lake: Jay White, Public domain · National D-Day Memorial: RebelAt at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Booker T. Washington National Monument: National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain · Virginia Museum of Transportation: Warfieldian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Taubman Museum of Art: O Palsson, CC BY 2.0
Everything we know about North Shore
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of North Shore; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 North Shore residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
About North Shore
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
North Shore is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, North Shore had a population of 3,332. The community lies along State Route 616. It is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area. Westlake Corner borders the community to the north and northwest.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 20 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,004 ft
North Shore’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with North Shore.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Shore | #185 | C+ | C | — | A− | B+ |
| Westlake Corner | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B |
| Union Hall | — | — | C− | — | A− | B |
| Penhook | — | — | C− | — | A− | B− |
Westlake Corner, Union Hall and Penhook have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. North Shore, Westlake Corner, Union Hall and Penhook report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare North Shore with a neighbor →
Questions about North Shore
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is North Shore, VA a good place to live?
North Shore grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #185 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is North Shore, VA expensive?
The typical home is worth about $504,000, 22% above the Virginia typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.