Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Saltville’s subject grades is an A for cost of living; the weakest is a D− for incomes. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Saltville, where Virginia’s towns sit at 7.7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 13 of Virginia’s 370 towns score higher on cost of living. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 7 of Virginia’s 138 towns do worse. Saltville has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Preston House and Scott-Walker House. Saltville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Saltville beats most towns.
Preston House2,077 counted in 2010 and 1,824 in 2020; an estimated 1,760 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Saltville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 185 in 1880, a peak of 2,964 in 1930, 1,824 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 3 maps from 1958 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Saltville, 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 Saltville.
At $645 a month, Saltville’s median rent is below both the Virginia town median ($1,762 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Typical home values rose 4.7% in the year to September 2026. 63% of Saltville households own their home.
| Saltville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $645 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 63% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Smyth County Public Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saltville ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 189 | C+ |
| Northwood HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 204 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Saltville beats the Virginia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Saltville.
| Saltville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Saltville | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.2% | 76.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23.9% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The violent crime rate in Saltville is 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Saltville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.8 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Saltville’s FEMA risk score is 73 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Saltville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 24° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Saltville for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Saltville grew to 594 in 2023, 97 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Marion (15%), Abingdon (7%) and Chilhowie (6%).
| Saltville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $49,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 4.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Saltville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.5% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clinch Mountain WMA | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Saltville
About 2 of every 100 Saltville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
3 places in Saltville on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Virginia, United States
Saltville is a town in Smyth and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 1,824 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kingsport–Bristol (TN)–Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Saltville.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saltville | — | — | A | B+ | B+ | D |
| Allison Gap | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Saltville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Allison Gap isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Saltville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.
2 notable people were born here, including Georgia Blizzard and Roby C. Thompson.
