Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pearisburg gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $220K, 3.3 years of the Blacksburg metro’s $66K median household income. It grades B− overall, 169th of 249 graded towns in Virginia. Pearisburg has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Giles County Courthouse and Pearisburg Historic District. Among 86 Virginia towns, just one has a lower level of violent crime than Pearisburg. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 77% of U.S. towns.
Where Pearisburg beats most towns.
Where Pearisburg’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 Pearisburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 285 in 1880, 2,909 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 5 maps from 1923 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pearisburg, 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 Pearisburg.
Pearisburg draws workers from Narrows and beyond, has seen reported crime fall by a third or more and has property taxes about half the Virginia norm.
2,191 jobs are based in Pearisburg, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Pearisburg’s income of the median household is $76,000. For most workers, Pearisburg is a place to come home to: only 17% work in town. Also worth knowing: it had 2,191 jobs in 2023, up 504 from 2013. In Pearisburg, 12% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Pearisburg | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The largest public high school is Giles County K-12 Virtual School, with 1,358 students. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Its public schools are run by the Giles County Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macy Mcclaugherty Elementary/MiddleLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–7 | Grades PK–7 | 440 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $973, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A typical home in Pearisburg is worth about $220,000, up 8.5% in a year, 47% below the Virginia typical home. The typical rent for Pearisburg comes to $848 a month, below both Virginia’s towns ($1,764 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Pearisburg: 70% of households live in a home they own.
| Pearisburg | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $848 a month | $1,764 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
The density of trails for Pearisburg comes to 0.8 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in Virginia’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. 2.7 miles of trail.
| Pearisburg | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among adults in Pearisburg, 26% have been diagnosed with depression and 16% smoke cigarettes. 15% of adults report frequent physical distress locally.
| Pearisburg | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Pearisburg | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 6.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.8% | 11.1% |
| More smokers | 16.2% | 12.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In July, afternoons reach 85°; in January, nights fall to 25°, and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 63% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Pearisburg, 78% come from inland flooding and 9% from cold waves. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Pearisburg after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 61 to 38 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Virginia, it does better than 69% of towns. The level of property crime for Pearisburg comes to 13.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pearisburg. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Park & preserveAppalachian Trail3.0M visitors a year
36 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
26 mi National PreserveNew River Gorge National Park and Preserve2.0M visitors a year
19 mi Stadium & arenaLane Stadium
11 mi LakeMountain Lake
39 mi LandmarkProject Greek IslandAppalachian Trail: Paulba. Original uploader was Paulbalegend at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · New River Gorge National Park and Preserve: NKS22, Public domain · Lane Stadium: User:B, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mountain Lake: Rolfmueller, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Project Greek Island: Z22, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Pearisburg; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Pearisburg residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
3 places in Pearisburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Pearisburg.
Town in Virginia, United States
Pearisburg is a town in and the county seat of Giles County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,909 at the time of the 2020 census. Pearisburg is part of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pearisburg grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #169 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Virginia, it does better than 69% of towns.
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+.
7 notable people were born here, including Sally Miller Gearhart and David Emmons Johnston.
