Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Vinton gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $286K for a typical one, or 4.2 years of the Roanoke metro’s $69K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 112th among Virginia's 249 graded towns. On the plus side, its schools outperform 92% of the state's. 18% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Vinton, below both Virginia’s towns (44%) and U.S. towns (29%). Vinton has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Gish Mill and Vinton Downtown Historic District.
Where Vinton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| W.E. Cundiff Elementary | PK–5 | 486 |
| Herman L. Horn Elementary | PK–5 | 399 |
Cook, Roland E., Elementary SchoolWhere Vinton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Vinton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,057 in 1890, 8,059 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1846 and 5 maps from 1929 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vinton. Close and well known come first.
in town ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
Big draw28 mi Park & preserveAppalachian Trail3.0M visitors a year
30 mi Stadium & arenaLane Stadium
25 mi LakeSmith Mountain Lake
36 mi LakeMountain Lake
3 mi MuseumVirginia Museum of TransportationBlue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Appalachian Trail: Paulba. Original uploader was Paulbalegend at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lane Stadium: User:B, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Smith Mountain Lake: Jay White, Public domain · Mountain Lake: Rolfmueller, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Virginia Museum of Transportation: Warfieldian, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vinton, 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 Vinton.
Vinton pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, fares better on crime within Virginia than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its A for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $286K. Its A ranks #13 of the 250 Virginia towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Roanoke County Public Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| W.E. Cundiff ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 486 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 67 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vinton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Vinton for work: only 6% work in town. The median household income in Vinton is $65,000. The top destinations are Roanoke (35%), Salem (8%) and Hollins (6%).
| Vinton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $65,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 14% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Vinton’s median rent is $992 a month. The typical Vinton home is worth about $286,000, up 3.8% in a year, 31% below the Virginia typical home. 59% of Vinton households own their home.
| Vinton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $992 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1.9 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Vinton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vineyard Park West | — | 3 |
| 2. Goode Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 27 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 53% of Virginia’s graded towns. Reported crimes rose from 139 to 215 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Vinton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 27° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,015 U.S. towns with household incomes like Vinton’s, it is healthier than 54%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Vinton. Vinton beats the Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 37% of adults have high blood pressure in Vinton.
| Vinton | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Vinton | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.2% | 6.2% |
| More smokers | 15.1% | 12.2% |
| More adults with depression | 26.9% | 21.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Vinton
About 4 of every 100 Vinton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
4 places in Vinton on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Vinton.
Town in Virginia, United States
Vinton is a town in eastern Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,059 at the 2020 census. Vinton is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area and the Roanoke Region of Virginia.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Vinton.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Vinton grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #112 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and A for schools.
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 B+.
3 notable people were born here, including David Huddleston and Mike McGuire.
