Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Stephens City’s subject grades is an A for history. Stephens City’s average trip to work is 44 minutes, where Virginia’s towns sit at 27 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 7 of the 254 Virginia towns we compare have a lower January low than Stephens City. Stephens City’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in Virginia’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 17 of Virginia’s 371 towns score higher on history. Stephens City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Stephens City beats most towns.
Census counts: 479 in 1880, 2,016 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1942 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Stephens City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stephens City, 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 Stephens City.
Most working residents leave Stephens City for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Stephens City grew to 307 in 2023, 44 more than in 2013. 4.3% of Stephens City residents live below the poverty line.
| Stephens City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 10% | 17% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 4.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Stephens City beats the Virginia average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 37% of adults have obesity in Stephens City.
| Stephens City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Stephens City | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10% | 12.5% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.8% | 3.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.1% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Stephens City has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 23° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Stephens City’s property crime rate is 7.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Stephens City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.3 per 1,000 residents | 14.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Stephens City home is worth about $428,000, up 0.7% in a year, close to the Virginia typical home. The median rent in Stephens City is $1,210 a month.
| Stephens City | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,210 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Newtown Commons | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stephens City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi LandmarkMount Weather Emergency Operations Center
13 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
33 mi CaveLuray Caverns
35 mi National BattlefieldAntietam National Battlefield161K visitors a year40 mi Scenic driveSkyline Drive
27 mi National Historical ParkHarpers Ferry National Historical Park538K visitors a yearMount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Shenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Luray Caverns: Paulo Ordoveza from Washington, DC, CC BY 2.0 · Antietam National Battlefield: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Skyline Drive: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: Mark Fickett, CC BY 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Stephens City
About 6 of every 100 Stephens City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
1,829 counted in 2010 and 2,016 in 2020; an estimated 2,207 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 notable people were born in Stephens City.
Incorporated town in Virginia, United States
Stephens City ( STEE-vənz) is an incorporated town in the southern part of Frederick County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 2,016 at the time of the 2020 census, and an estimated population of 2,096 in 2022. Founded by Peter Stephens in the 1730s, the colonial town was chartered and named for Lewis Stephens (Peter's only son) in October 1758. It was originally settled by German Protestants from Heidelberg. Stephens City is the second-oldest municipality in the Shenandoah Valley after nearby Winchester, which is about 5 mi (8 km) to the north. "Crossroads", the first free black community in the Valley in the pre-Civil War years, was founded east of town in the 1850s. Crossroad…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.1 years of the area's median household income ($84,298 across the Winchester, VA-WV 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.
3 notable people were born here, including Kelley Washington and Charles W. Turner.
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