Photo: IxieVerns · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Rural Retreat run?
Rural Retreat’s town government spent $2.1 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,344 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Rural Retreat didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Rural Retreat is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $1,344 per resident a year, or $3.68 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 47%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Rural Retreat didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Rural Retreat yet
Every year of Rural Retreat’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the town reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, the same as 10 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
The typical homeowner pays $952 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.51% of the home’s value, vs 0.73% across Virginia.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Rural Retreat’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Rural Retreat’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Rural Retreat →
Who’s in charge in Rural Retreat
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Rural Retreat’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The town posts agendas and minutes on townofruralretreat.com ↗.
One full-time town employee for every 153 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (1,531).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Wythe County Public Schools
Rural Retreat’s K–12 school district, shared with Wytheville. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,623 per pupil, $8,961 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Virginia districts overall: 49% local, 41% state, 10% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Rural Retreat’s votes are counted by county
Virginia reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Rural Retreat alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Wythe County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican79.3%12,267 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat19.9%3,075 votesOthers: 0.9% (133 votes).
Most votes in Wythe County: Donald J Trump
Virginia: Harris 51.8%, Trump 46.1%
100% of Rural Retreat lies in Wythe County. Every 2024 race in Wythe County is on the county’s page.
Wythe County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Rural Retreat.
- 1Your townTown governmentOfficials: townofruralretreat.com ↗
- 2Virginia House of DelegatesState representatives
- 3Virginia SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Virginia
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Rural Retreat’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Rural Retreat’s government
How much does Rural Retreat spend per resident?
About $1,344 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Rural Retreat didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $4.4 million.
What is the property tax rate in Rural Retreat?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $952 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.51% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.73% across Virginia. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see townofruralretreat.com.
Who runs Rural Retreat’s government?
See townofruralretreat.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Rural Retreat yet.
How did Rural Retreat vote in 2024?
Virginia counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Rural Retreat alone. Wythe County, where 100% of Rural Retreat lies, voted Trump 79.3%, Harris 19.9% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Rural Retreat?
10 full-time and 36 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $43,923 (about $527,076 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Rural Retreat in the state legislature?
State Senate District 5 (Travis Hackworth) and House of Delegates District 46 (Mitchell Cornett). The House of Delegates district also covers eight other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Rural Retreat’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Rural Retreat, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →