PenhookVA
A town of 1,250, settled in 1854.
Is Penhook a good place to live?
The best of Penhook’s subject grades is an A− for schools; the weakest is a C− for cost of living. Penhook’s typical journey to work is 41 minutes, above both Virginia’s towns (27 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Of the 254 Virginia towns we compare, none has a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Penhook. Penhook’s concentration of trails is 1.2 miles per square mile, above both the Virginia town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Penhook has 2 places on the National Register. Penhook has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,250 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Penhook grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Penhook is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Penhook: who provides what
Penhook 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 Penhook.
Most of Penhook’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.2 jobs for each of them
The top destinations are Rocky Mount (16%), Roanoke (13%) and Cave Spring (3%). Most working residents leave Penhook for work: only 1% work in town. Also worth knowing: between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Penhook dropped by 49, to 41. The town’s income of the median household stands at $109,000.
| Penhook | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $109,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 4.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical home in Penhook: about $504K
Typical home values rose 2.9% in the year to September 2026. For households in Penhook, the share who are owner-occupiers is 92%.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Penhook, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Summer afternoons peak near 87° in July, and January nights bottom out around 27°; snowfall runs to about 6 inches a winter. Summers in Penhook are warm, and winters chilly.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Penhook stands out in Virginia and nationally, with the median age higher than most
Children under 18 are 14% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). 49% of Penhook adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Penhook | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51.2 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 44% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
About 74 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±6.8 points). Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Penhook | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.4% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 20.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 2.1% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.7% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.2% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.3% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.4% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.2% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.9% | 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
The biggest natural risk in Penhook is inland flooding, at a high overall level
85% of Penhook’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 65% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fewer of Penhook’s adults binge drink than in the typical Virginia or U.S. town
The share of adults in Penhook who have diabetes: 17%. Only one of the 254 Virginia towns we compare has a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Penhook. Against the Virginia average, Penhook comes out ahead on 15 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 9.
| Penhook | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 33% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Penhook | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.4% | 10.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5% | 7.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Penhook keeps 1.8% of its land conserved
Across 1 park or preserve: 15 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Penhook: one, of 6 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Penhook State Boat Ramp | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Penhook
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Penhook; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Penhook residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
99% of working residents leave Penhook for work
Where Penhook’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Penhook
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Penhook is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Penhook had a population of 782. It is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 13 sq mi
- Elevation
- 994 ft
- ZIP code
- 24137
Questions about Penhook
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Penhook, VA expensive?
Yes. That is 7.3 years of the area's median household income ($68,761 across the Roanoke, 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−.