Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Virginia.
Richlands earns a D, 229th of 249 graded towns in Virginia, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $37K, and 30% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: its public schools beat 76% of Virginia towns on state tests and graduation. 30% of residents live below the poverty line in Richlands, against 7.7% in Virginia’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 8 of Virginia’s 372 towns do worse. Richlands has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Williams House and Richlands Historic District.
Where Richlands beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Richlands Elementary | PK–5 | 576 |
| Richlands Middle | 6–8 | 447 |
| Richlands High | 9–12 | 557 |
Williams House| Widest gap | Richlands | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.9% | 6.2% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Richlands is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 475 in 1900, 5,261 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1946 and 6 maps from 1916 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Richlands, 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 Richlands.
Richlands is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Virginia (mostly inland flooding) and reports violent crime at about twice the Virginia rate.
At 2.2 years of the Bluefield area’s $51K median household income, the typical home (about $113K) costs less against local pay than in any other Virginia town; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $796, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Richlands home is worth about $113,000, up 2.5% in a year, 73% below the Virginia typical home. Richlands’ median rent is $804 a month.
| Richlands | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $804 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Tazewell County Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Richlands High, with 557 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richlands ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 576 | A− |
| Richlands HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 557 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Against the 1,664 U.S. towns with household incomes like Richlands’s, it is less healthy than 75%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
22% of Richlands adults smoke cigarettes. Of the 253 Virginia towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Richlands. 34% of Richlands adults get no exercise outside work.
| Richlands | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 17% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Richlands | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.9% | 6.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.6% | 11.1% |
| More smokers | 21.5% | 12.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Richlands | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Williams Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime runs at 5.6 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Virginia rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C−.
The violent crime rate in Richlands is 5.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Richlands | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.1 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of Virginia towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 125 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 18 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 125 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Richlands. Only 7 of the 253 Virginia towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Richlands.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Richlands has chilly winters and pleasant summers. Among 253 Virginia towns, just 6 have a lower July high than Richlands.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Richlands has about as many jobs (2,010) as working residents, but only 264 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 2,924 in 2013 to 2,010.
Most working residents leave Richlands for work: only 14% work in town. Jobs based in Richlands fell to 2,010 in 2023, 914 fewer than in 2013. Among 253 Virginia towns, just 1 have a lower median household income than Richlands.
| Richlands | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $37,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Richlands
About 3 of every 100 Richlands residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
3 places in Richlands on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Richlands.
Town in Virginia, United States
Richlands is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,261 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Richlands.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richlands | #229 | D | B | C− | A− | D− |
| Raven | — | — | A | — | A− | D− |
| Doran | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cedar Bluff | — | — | A− | — | A− | D |
Raven and Cedar Bluff have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Raven and Cedar Bluff report no FBI crime data of their own. Doran isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Richlands with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Richlands grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #229 of 249 in Virginia. It grades D− for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.2 years of the area's median household income ($50,550 across the Bluefield, WV-VA area).
6 notable people were born here, including Heath Miller and Jim Moody.
