Rockbridge County, Virginia Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Rockbridge County, Virginia, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Rockbridge County, Virginia. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Rockbridge County, Virginia. The estimated population of Rockbridge County, Virginia is 22,663 people, with a median age of 49.2.

We can look at the total population in Rockbridge County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
22,663
 -0.29% +0.99%
2020
22,728
+0.7%
-
2019
22,570
+0.27%
-
2018
22,509
+0.31%
-
2017
22,440
 - -

Population of Rockbridge County, Virginia by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
91.5%
92.9%
 -1.51%
Black/African American
3.4%
3%
 +13.33%
Native
0.5%
0.3%
 +66.67%
Hispanic
2.1%
1.6%
 +31.25%
Asian
0.9%
0.6%
 +50.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0.1%
 -100.00%
Two Or More Races
1.4%
1.4%
 0.00%
Other
0.2%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Rockbridge County, Virginia by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 49.2 +0.41% 47.9 +0.42% 50.2 +0.4%
2020 49 0% 47.7 +0.42% 50 0%
2019 49 +0.62% 47.5 0% 50 +0.6%
2018 48.7 +0.21% 47.5 +0.21% 49.7 +0.2%
2017 48.6 - 47.4 - 49.6 -

The median age of Rockbridge County, Virginia gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 1,102 -3.8% 1,137 -7.39% 1,045 1,052
10 to 19 1,223 -4.77% 972 +20.77% 1,160 1,182
20 to 29 1,189 +3.28% 1,140 -5.51% 1,225 1,077
30 to 39 874 -1.15% 1,069 +11.19% 855 1,176
40 to 49 1,490 +9.36% 1,412 -16.51% 1,625 1,176
50 to 59 1,720 +8.93% 1,767 -2.29% 1,860 1,727
60 to 69 1,862 -12.84% 1,857 -12.13% 1,615 1,641
70+ 1,683 +12.43% 1,943 +19.61% 1,896 2,351

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Rockbridge County, Virginia is $57,828.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Rockbridge County.

  • Under 25
    $28,587.00
  • 25 to 44
    $69,054.00
  • 45 to 64
    $67,500.00
  • 65 and over
    $45,239.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Rockbridge County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Rockbridge County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Rockbridge County, Virginia is currently $80,781.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

5.54% of households in Rockbridge County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Rockbridge County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    15.78%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    27.52%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    22.84%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    10.54%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    11.90%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    5.89%
  • $200,000 or more
    5.54%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Rockbridge County is $34,342.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Rockbridge County by the total population of Rockbridge County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Rockbridge County, Virginia, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Rockbridge County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    13.85%
  • Bachelor's degree
    26.60%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    8.85%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    47.88%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.82%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Rockbridge County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Rockbridge County over the age of 16 is 19,165.

Of those people, a total of 55.10% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Rockbridge County is 51.80%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 941 36.30% 15.20%
20 to 24 years 1,225 68.00% 9.30%
25 to 29 years 1,077 82.30% 0.00%
30 to 34 years 1,165 78.70% 24.20%
35 to 44 years 2,419 81.60% 4.60%
45 to 54 years 2,726 82.10% 2.90%
55 to 59 years 2,109 75.30% 0.60%
60 to 64 years 1,575 41.50% 3.10%
65 to 74 years 3,319 25.40% 0.60%
75 years and over 2,609 10.60% 5.80%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Rockbridge County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 17,920 55.20% 4.80%
Black or African American 567 52.70% 17.70%
American Indian and Alaska Native 103 26.20% 51.90%
Asian 207 46.40% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 39 69.20% 0.00%
Two or more races 329 62.90% 6.90%
Hispanic or Latino 295 32.90% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 17,740 55.40% 4.90%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Rockbridge County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Rockbridge County is 9,933, with median earnings of $38,689.00.

Women in Rockbridge County, Virginia earning approximately 77.00% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 9,933 $38,689.00
Male 5,226 $43,066.00
Female 4,707 $33,171.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,338 $52,417.00
Business and Financial 375 $68,792.00
Computer and Mathematical 175 $65,625.00
Architecture and Engineering 103 $111,953.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 53 $82,841.00
Community and Social Service 183 $20,760.00
Legal 80 $49,167.00
Educational and Library 715 $49,703.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 192 $27,500.00
Healthcare Practitioners 610 $47,361.00
Healthcare Support 368 $17,308.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 40 $48,333.00
Law Enforcement 214 $46,944.00
Food Preparation and Serving 547 $20,461.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 532 $17,500.00
Personal Care and Service 115 $7,474.00
Sales 916 $23,968.00
Office and Administrative Support 763 $35,231.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 217 $11,670.00
Construction and Extraction 543 $44,976.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 392 $51,944.00
Production 780 $42,672.00
Transportation and Material Moving 336 $34,118.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 681 $54,236.00 657 $51,250.00
Business and Financial 153 $100,156.00 222 $57,151.00
Computer and Mathematical 163 $26,250.00 12 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 103 $111,953.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 35 $64,931.00 18 $0.00
Community and Social Service 116 $20,490.00 67 $33,750.00
Legal 31 $0.00 49 $48,958.00
Educational and Library 295 $54,435.00 420 $48,688.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 71 $36,103.00 121 $16,441.00
Healthcare Practitioners 27 $17,841.00 583 $65,710.00
Healthcare Support 9 $0.00 359 $16,442.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 25 $49,896.00 15 $0.00
Law Enforcement 194 $47,652.00 20 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 183 $24,280.00 364 $18,913.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 436 $40,088.00 96 $11,667.00
Personal Care and Service 9 $0.00 106 $18,750.00
Sales 464 $46,900.00 452 $7,083.00
Office and Administrative Support 34 $63,529.00 729 $35,015.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 176 $11,719.00 41 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 543 $44,976.00 0 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 392 $51,944.00 0 $0.00
Production 539 $45,540.00 241 $32,305.00
Transportation and Material Moving 296 $47,333.00 40 $0.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 9,045 households in Rockbridge County, with an average household size of 2.48 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 6,213 families in Rockbridge County with an average family size of 2.96 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 4,828 317 1,068 2,832
Average Household Size 2.9 3.68 3.44 1.27
Total Families 4,828 317 1,068 0
Average Household Size 2.88 3.34 3.19 0

Poverty

Of the 6,213 families in Rockbridge County, 4.60% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Rockbridge County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 11,261 housing units in Rockbridge County, Virginia.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 9,045 80.32%
Vacant 2,216 19.68%

16.90% of the total 11,261 housing units in Rockbridge County are rental units. This is approximately 1,903 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 6,910 are occupied by the owner - or 61.36% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Rockbridge County is $857.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Rockbridge County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    232
  • Less than $500
    133
  • $500 to $999
    1,195
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    389
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    56
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    45
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    85

Property Value

The median value of a property in Rockbridge County is $209,500.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Rockbridge County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    488
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    797
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    963
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,054
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,515
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,433
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    491
  • $1,000,000 or more
    169

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Rockbridge County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Rockbridge County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    1,391
  • 1940 to 1949
    329
  • 1950 to 1959
    881
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,249
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,702
  • 1980 to 1989
    980
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,304
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,985
  • 2010 to 2013
    424
  • 2014 or later
    16

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Rockbridge County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    449
  • 1 vehicle available
    2,189
  • 2 vehicles available
    3,037
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,370

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Rockbridge County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Rockbridge County that commute to work in a particular way.

27 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Rockbridge County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    193
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    875
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,693
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    1,266
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,065
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    638
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,203
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    161
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    195
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    834
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    547
  • 90 or more minutes
    236

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Rockbridge County, Virginia in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Rockbridge County, Virginia

We have data for 8 places in Rockbridge County, Virginia. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.