Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Staunton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 196th among Virginia's 249 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: residents are healthier than 53% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 71% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $315K, 4.3 years of the Staunton metro’s $74K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 42 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and Western State Hospital Complex. 23% of working residents work locally in Staunton, above both the Virginia town median (4.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Staunton is home to Mary Baldwin University.
Where Staunton beats most towns.
Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 41 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Virginia towns with a listing.
Census counts: 3,875 in 1860, 25,750 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1791 and 5 maps from 1944 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Staunton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Staunton, 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 Staunton.
Staunton is healthier than towns with similar incomes, trades workers with Fishersville and other neighbors and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Virginia.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 29 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Staunton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Staunton City Public Schools. Two of its 15 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 583 | C |
| Staunton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 766 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
The median rent in Staunton is $1,024 a month. Typical home values rose 4.8% in the year to September 2026. 61% of Staunton households own their home.
| Staunton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,024 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 24.5°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 78% of Virginia places with climate records; July afternoons average 84.9°.
Staunton has chilly winters and warm summers. About 22 inches of snow falls in a winter. Staunton’s July high is 85°F.
| Staunton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 85°F | 88°F | 85°F |
| January low | 25°F | 26°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Staunton has about as many jobs (10,885) as working residents, but only 2,623 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 20.5 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
About one in 4 of Staunton’s working residents works in town. 8.8% of workers work from home in Staunton. The top destinations are Fishersville (7%), Stuarts Draft (6%) and Verona (6%).
| Staunton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.8% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
6.9 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. American Frontier Culture Museum, at 200 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Staunton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Montgomery Hall Park | 4.8 mi | 146 |
| 2. American Frontier Culture Museum | 1.3 mi | 200 |
| 3. Gypsy Hill Park and Golf Course | 0.2 mi | 178 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
People 65 and older are 21% of residents (17% statewide). Staunton has grown 4.1% since 2020, to 26,801 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 42% across Virginia.
| Staunton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 44% | 29% |
54.2% women, 45.8% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 67% are women (VA 49%). Median age: women 39.9, men 39.9.
| Staunton | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.3% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.2% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.7% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.4% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.1% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.3% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Within Virginia, it does better than 65% of towns.
| Staunton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 10,036 U.S. towns with household incomes like Staunton’s, it is healthier than 73%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Staunton beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Staunton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Staunton | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.5% | 6.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.7% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.1% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Staunton. Close and well known come first.
13 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
14 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
31 mi Stadium & arenaScott Stadium
31 mi Stadium & arenaJohn Paul Jones Arena
24 mi National forestGeorge Washington and Jefferson National Forests
in town MuseumFrontier Culture Museum of VirginiaShenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Scott Stadium: Mak7912, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Paul Jones Arena: Bob Mical, CC BY 2.0 · George Washington and Jefferson National Forests: Aneta Kaluzna, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia: Woody Hibbard from Texas, USA, CC BY 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Staunton
About 9 of every 100 Staunton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
41 places in Staunton on the National Register of Historic Places.
39 notable people were born in Staunton.
Independent city in Virginia
Staunton ( STAN-tən) is an independent city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities are separate jurisdictions from the counties that surround them, so the government offices of Augusta County are in Verona, which is contiguous to Staunton. Staunton is a principal city of the Staunton-Stuarts Draft Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2020 population of 125,433. Staunton is known for being the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, and as the home of Mary Baldwin University, historically a women's college. The city is also home to Stuart Hall, a private co-ed preparatory school, as well as …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Staunton.
Jolivue has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Verona and Jolivue report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Staunton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Staunton grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #196 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B− for health, B− for safety and C for schools.
Within Virginia, it does better than 65% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
39 notable people were born here, including Woodrow Wilson and Francis Collins.
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