Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Orange gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $338K for a typical one, or 3.6 years of the Lake of the Woods area’s $94K median household income. It grades B− overall, 178th among Virginia's 249 graded towns. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Its National Register listings include Montpelier and Mayhurst. 21% of working residents work locally in Orange, against 4.8% in Virginia’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Orange's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Orange beats most towns.
Mayhurst
Census counts: 731 in 1870, 4,880 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1980 and 2 maps from 1961 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Orange is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Orange, 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 Orange.
Orange trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Lake of the Woods and beyond and fares better on crime within Virginia than nationally.
3,592 jobs are based in Orange, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 20 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
In Orange, the average commute is 20 minutes. Employers in Orange shed 251 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 3,592. The share of residents in Orange who live below the poverty line: 14%. The top destinations are Culpeper (5%), Charlottesville (5%) and University of Virginia (2%).
| Orange | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The largest public high school is Orange County High, with 1,477 students. Public schools: the Orange County Public Schools. Two of the 4 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 621 | C |
| Orange County HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,477 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
For adults in Orange, the share who had a checkup this year is 81%. In Orange, 40% of adults have high blood pressure, and 13% binge drink.
| Orange | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Orange | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.6% | 11.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 6.2% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.2% | 3.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 73% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts nearly half of Orange’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 14% to hurricanes. Since 1995, Orange has seen 2 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 26.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 52% of Virginia’s graded towns.
The property offense rate in Orange is 14.9 per 1,000 residents. The violent crime rate in the town is 2.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Orange | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.9 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $338K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 23 miles.
Homes in Orange are typically worth about $338,000, up 1.7% in a year, 18% below the Virginia typical home. In Orange, nearly half of households live in a home they own. For Orange, the rent at the middle of the market is $1,103 a month.
| Orange | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,103 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Count the trails in 5 parks and preserves and they come to 0.9 miles. The concentration of trails for Orange comes to 0.3 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 5, covering 21 acres.
| Orange | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veteran's Park | 0.1 mi | 15 |
| 2. Belleview Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Legend Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Orange. Close and well known come first.
19 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
36 mi National MonumentGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument72K visitors a year
26 mi Stadium & arenaScott Stadium28 mi Scenic driveSkyline Drive
35 mi CaveLuray Caverns
26 mi Stadium & arenaJohn Paul Jones ArenaShenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Washington Birthplace National Monument: National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain · Scott Stadium: Mak7912, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 · John Paul Jones Arena: Bob Mical, CC BY 2.0
None within 15 miles of Orange; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Orange residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
Where Orange’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
12 places in Orange on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Orange.
Town in Virginia, United States
Orange is a town and the county seat of Orange County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,880 at the 2020 census, representing a 3.4% increase since the 2010 census. Orange is 28 miles (45 km) northeast of Charlottesville, 88 miles (142 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., and 4 miles (6 km) east of Founding Father and fourth U.S. president James Madison's plantation of Montpelier.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Orange grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #178 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C for health, C for safety and B− for schools.
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 James Taliaferro and Nannie Helen Burroughs.
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