Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Roanoke earns a D, ranked 237th of 249 in Virginia, mostly because of safety and schools. Its crime rate is higher than 94% of U.S. towns, with 544 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its public schools trail 83% of Virginia towns on state tests and graduation. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. 43% of working residents work locally in Roanoke, above both Virginia’s towns (4.8%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Lone Oaks and St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church. Only 2 of the 86 Virginia towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Roanoke.
Where Roanoke beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Lone Oaks
Its 65 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Virginia towns with a listing.
Census counts: 669 in 1880, 100,011 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1929 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Roanoke is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Roanoke. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Park & preserveAppalachian Trail3.0M visitors a year
3 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
26 mi Stadium & arenaLane Stadium
40 mi LandmarkProject Greek Island
29 mi LakeSmith Mountain Lake
32 mi LakeMountain LakeAppalachian Trail: Paulba. Original uploader was Paulbalegend at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Lane Stadium: User:B, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Project Greek Island: Z22, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Smith Mountain Lake: Jay White, Public domain · Mountain Lake: Rolfmueller, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Roanoke, 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 Roanoke.
Roanoke draws workers from Cave Spring and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Virginia rate.
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 D. Property crime runs at 34.8 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Virginia rate, most of it theft.
The violent crime rate in Roanoke is 5.6 per 1,000 residents. Roanoke reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 94% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C−, Cave Spring highest at A.
Its public schools are run by the Roanoke City Public Schools. Three of its 37 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breckinridge MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 733 | D |
| Patrick Henry HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,030 | B |
| Grandin Court ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 331 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
65,099 jobs are based in Roanoke, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
18% of residents live below the poverty line in Roanoke. The top destinations are Salem (9%), Hollins (5%) and Cave Spring (5%). Roanoke’s average trip to work is 19 minutes.
| Roanoke | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 12% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
53 miles of trail in 47 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Mill Mountain Park, 576 acres with 11.6 miles of trail.
| Roanoke | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.6% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mill Mountain Park | 11.6 mi | 576 |
| 2. Fishburn Park | 1.8 mi | 47 |
| 3. Woodland Park | 1.5 mi | 40 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 7,535 U.S. towns with household incomes like Roanoke’s, it is less healthy than 65%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its C−, from Vinton (C+) to Cave Spring (A−).
Roanoke beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 42% of Roanoke adults have obesity.
| Roanoke | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Roanoke | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11% | 7.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 20% | 13.1% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.8% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Roanoke home is worth about $278,000, up 2.3% in a year, 33% below the Virginia typical home.
| Roanoke | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $996 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 47% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
929 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 91 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 929 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Roanoke.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Roanoke has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 27° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4 within 15 miles of the center of Roanoke
About 4 of every 100 Roanoke residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
65 places in Roanoke on the National Register of Historic Places.
55 notable people were born in Roanoke.
Independent city in the United States
Roanoke ( ROH-ə-nohk) is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River, within the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanoke is about 50 miles (80 km) north of the Virginia–North Carolina border and 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., along Interstate 81. At the 2020 census, Roanoke's population was 100,011, making it the most populous city in Virginia west of the state capital, Richmond. It is the primary population center of the Roanoke metropolitan area, which had a population of 315,251 in 2020. The Roanoke Valley was home to members of the Siouan-speaking Tutelo tribe when European settlers arriv…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Roanoke.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Salem (B+) is closest.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke | #237 | D | B− | D | C− | C− |
| Cave Spring | #70 | A | C | — | A | A− |
| Salem | #138 | B+ | C | — | A− | B |
| Vinton | #112 | B+ | B+ | C | A | C+ |
| Hollins | #131 | B+ | C+ | — | A | B− |
Cave Spring, Salem and Hollins report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Roanoke with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Roanoke grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #237 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C− for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4 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 B−.
55 notable people were born here, including John C. Mather and Henrietta Lacks.
