Photo: Waldo Jaquith from Charlottesville, VA, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0How is Shenandoah run?
Shenandoah’s town government spent $1.3 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $531 per resident. Water and other utilities ($29,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Shenandoah is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
Page County Public Schools
Shenandoah’s K–12 school district, shared with Luray, Stanley. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,441 per pupil, $8,932 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.
About $531 per resident a year, or $1.45 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 36%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$762 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Shenandoah’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($762 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 76 Virginia cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $516, and the middle half spent $292–$1,368. Shenandoah spent more than 58% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($316,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Virginia cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Shenandoah itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is down 26% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Shenandoah reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $762 · 2024: $531.
full-time in March 2025, down from 25 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,447 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.68% 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 Shenandoah’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 Shenandoah’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Shenandoah →
Who’s in charge in Shenandoah
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time town employee for every 124 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (2,485).
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.
Shenandoah’s votes are counted by county
Virginia reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Shenandoah alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Page County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican76.4%10,123 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat22.5%2,976 votesOthers: 1.1% (152 votes).
Most votes in Page County: Donald J Trump
Virginia: Harris 51.8%, Trump 46.1%
100% of Shenandoah lies in Page County. Every 2024 race in Page County is on the county’s page.
Page 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 Shenandoah.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 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 Shenandoah’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Shenandoah’s government
How much does Shenandoah spend per resident?
About $531 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $762 was more than 58% of 76 Virginia cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Shenandoah?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,447 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.68% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.73% across Virginia. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Shenandoah’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Shenandoah yet.
How did Shenandoah vote in 2024?
Virginia counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Shenandoah alone. Page County, where 100% of Shenandoah lies, voted Trump 76.4%, Harris 22.5% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Shenandoah?
20 full-time and 5 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $105,791 (about $1.3M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Shenandoah in the state legislature?
State Senate District 2 (Mark Obenshain) and House of Delegates District 33 (Justin Pence). The House of Delegates district also covers 10 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Shenandoah’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; 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 →