Official Federal Data
Highland County, Virginia
Population 2,296
9 Sources
Updated August 12, 2026
$65,625 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
3%
Unemployment
4.3% national
$111M up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
30.8% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Small population: 2,296 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$65,625 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$34,453 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$76,499 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$64,911 state RPP 101.1
Poverty Rate
9.5% down from 2019 vs 2019approx.
Median Income Comparison
Highland County$65,625
Virginia$93,170
National$80,734
Highland County is $27,545 (29.6%) below the Virginia median.
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Virginia, 101.1 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the state index stands in for Highland County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 14.5%
18-34 · 17.6%
35-54 · 16.8%
55-64 · 16.3%
65+ · 34.8%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
88.8%
High School+
National: 89.6%
down from national 0.8 pts vs national
30.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
down from national 4.9 pts vs national
10.2%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
down from national 3.9 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
2,296
Population
1,038
Labor Force
Employed
914
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3%
Mean Commute 1 min above national avg
27.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
21.1%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Below the state median: Median household income runs $27,545 (29.6%) under the Virginia median, so statewide income averages overstate local household buying power.
- Aging population: Median age of 56 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$111M up from 2023 +12.3% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+12.3% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+14.2% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
101.1
Cost of Living · state · Above Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Information employs 113 workers (35.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $67,183. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 183 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $111M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Information averages $67,183 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $16,310, a 4.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
2 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Construction Cluster at 61.4% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
70
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
7.17x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail
Construction of Buildings
7.17x 43
Social Assistance
1.77x 27
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Construction of Buildings concentrates at 7.17x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$200,000 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$856 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
88.9% up from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
46.2% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
1.4% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
3.0x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$745/mo
1 Bedroom
$749/mo
2 Bedroom
$914/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,233/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,429/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$897/mo, from a renter median of $35,885) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 30.6% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 5.4% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.0x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- High home ownership: 88.9% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Elevated vacancy: 46.2% of housing units are vacant, above the Virginia rate of 8.7%, and down from 46.3% in 2019.
- Mostly second homes: seasonal, recreational and occasional-use units are 65% of vacant units, so the headline rate is not available supply.
- Genuinely available supply: units listed for rent or for sale are 3.1% of the vacant stock, or 1.4% of all housing units against the 46.2% headline vacancy rate. Absorbable supply for an incoming employer is thin, and the gap between the two is the redevelopment and conversion opportunity.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $35,885 can pay without cost burden (~$897/mo), and 30.6% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
1,164 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min above national avg
27.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
21.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
78.8%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (1,985)
up from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003
Bachelor's+
30.8% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
88.8% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Highland County
The IPEDS institutional directory lists no college, university, or technical school located in Highland County. Any training pipeline serving this county runs through institutions outside it, which this page does not aggregate.
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
32.2%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 16.3% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
41.6%
Service
16.1%
Sales & Office
18.5%
Construction / Maint.
17%
Production / Transport
6.9%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 914 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 32.2% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
- Low participation: 52.3% labor force participation against a labor force that grew 14.3% between 2019 and 2024, so workforce development programs may unlock additional supply.
- Talent pipeline: no college, university, or technical school is located in Highland County per the IPEDS institutional directory, so any training pipeline serving it runs through institutions outside the county.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 9 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Highland County shows strong potential for construction of buildings attraction, with a 7.17x concentration and 43 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 32.2% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2024 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Highland County, Virginia, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Highland County, Virginia?
2,296 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Highland County, Virginia?
$65,625 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Virginia (101.1 against a national average of 100), that is $64,911 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at state level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Highland County, Virginia?
3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Highland County, Virginia?
$111M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
Highland County, VA: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →