Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Woodstock is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 217th of 249 graded towns in Virginia, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 61% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $338K, 5 years of the county’s $67K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Woodstock, above both Virginia’s towns (7.7%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On history, just 14 of Virginia’s 371 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Shenandoah County Fairgrounds, at 50 acres.
Where Woodstock beats most towns.
Shenandoah County Courthouse
Census counts: 998 in 1860, 5,807 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 4 maps from 1947 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Woodstock is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Woodstock, 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 Woodstock.
Woodstock draws workers from Strasburg and beyond and fares better on crime within Virginia than nationally, but it has poverty well above the Virginia rate.
4,146 jobs are based in Woodstock, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
21% of working residents work locally in Woodstock. The top destinations are Columbia Furnace (6%), Winchester (6%) and Mount Jackson (3%). Woodstock’s average trip to work is 29 minutes.
| Woodstock | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Shenandoah County Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Central High, with 728 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| W.W. Robinson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,035 | C |
| Central HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 728 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
17% of Woodstock adults report frequent physical distress. Woodstock beats the Virginia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 33% of Woodstock adults get no exercise outside work.
| Woodstock | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Woodstock | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.7% | 76.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.7% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Woodstock has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median rent in Woodstock is $1,005 a month. The typical Woodstock home is worth about $338,000, up 2.1% in a year, 18% below the Virginia typical home.
| Woodstock | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 45% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,005 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 23.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 57% of Virginia’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Woodstock.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Woodstock | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.2% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. W.O. Riley Park | 0.8 mi | 19 |
| 2. Shenandoah County Fairgrounds | — | 50 |
| 3. Riverview Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Woodstock. Close and well known come first.
11 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
Big draw36 mi LandmarkMount Weather Emergency Operations Center
15 mi CaveLuray Caverns23 mi Scenic driveSkyline Drive
37 mi National forestGeorge Washington and Jefferson National Forests19 mi Zoo & aquariumSmithsonian Conservation Biology InstituteShenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Luray Caverns: Paulo Ordoveza from Washington, DC, CC BY 2.0 · Skyline Drive: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Washington and Jefferson National Forests: Aneta Kaluzna, CC BY-SA 2.5
None within 15 miles of Woodstock; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Woodstock residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
5,097 counted in 2010 and 5,807 in 2020; an estimated 6,002 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 places in Woodstock on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Woodstock.
Town in Virginia, United States
Woodstock is a town in and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Woodstock had a population of 5,807. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles of incorporated area of the town and is located along the "Seven Bends" of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. While some tourism references list Woodstock as the fourth oldest town in Virginia, the area was sparsely settled and perhaps platted in 1752 or shortly thereafter, but the town was actually established by charter in 1761. While there are a number of Virginia towns closer to the eastern seaboard that claim earlier founding dates, Woodstock was one of the first towns west of the Blue Ridge Mount…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Woodstock grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #217 of 249 in Virginia. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
13 notable people were born here, including Wade H. Haislip and John James Allen.
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