Wise County, Virginia Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Wise 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 Wise County, Virginia. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Wise County, Virginia. The estimated population of Wise County, Virginia is 36,531 people, with a median age of 41.5.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
36,531
 -3.95% -7.61%
2020
38,032
 -1.18% -
2019
38,486
 -1.38% -
2018
39,025
 -1.3% -
2017
39,539
 - -

Population of Wise 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
91.1%
91.7%
 -0.65%
Black/African American
5.4%
5.3%
 +1.89%
Native
0.2%
0.1%
 +100.00%
Hispanic
1.3%
1.2%
 +8.33%
Asian
0.5%
0.5%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0.1%
 -100.00%
Two Or More Races
1.4%
1.2%
 +16.67%
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 Wise 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 41.5 -0.24% 39.9 0% 43.7 -0.68%
2020 41.6 +0.48% 39.9 +1.01% 44 +0.23%
2019 41.4 +1.72% 39.5 +1.02% 43.9 +2.57%
2018 40.7 +0.99% 39.1 +0.26% 42.8 +1.66%
2017 40.3 - 39 - 42.1 -

The median age of Wise 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 2,265 -24.35% 2,170 -14.57% 1,757 1,864
10 to 19 2,409 -2.15% 2,200 -8.61% 2,354 2,014
20 to 29 3,180 -5.92% 2,355 -16.4% 2,990 1,991
30 to 39 2,797 -7.88% 2,227 -22.26% 2,580 1,768
40 to 49 2,897 -8.44% 2,325 +1.39% 2,657 2,357
50 to 59 2,648 -3.8% 2,721 -23.39% 2,547 2,134
60 to 69 2,617 -6.37% 2,523 +11.11% 2,444 2,804
70+ 1,799 +9.13% 2,406 -3.38% 1,954 2,316

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Wise County, Virginia is $44,884.00.

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 Wise County.

  • Under 25
    $40,110.00
  • 25 to 44
    $55,197.00
  • 45 to 64
    $48,260.00
  • 65 and over
    $33,098.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Wise 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 Wise County, Virginia is currently $55,076.00.

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.

1.01% of households in Wise 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 Wise County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    29.40%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    25.95%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    21.24%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    11.49%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    8.64%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.26%
  • $200,000 or more
    1.01%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Wise County is $22,225.00.

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

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Wise 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 Wise 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
    9.28%
  • Bachelor's degree
    18.20%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.23%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    56.97%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.32%

Employment

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

The total population of Wise County over the age of 16 is 30,336.

Of those people, a total of 47.20% 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 Wise County is 42.10%.

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 1,794 51.80% 23.00%
20 to 24 years 2,339 69.90% 15.20%
25 to 29 years 2,642 55.20% 8.30%
30 to 34 years 2,339 66.20% 14.20%
35 to 44 years 4,628 64.60% 9.80%
45 to 54 years 4,770 58.40% 11.90%
55 to 59 years 2,306 50.30% 7.90%
60 to 64 years 2,896 35.60% 0.00%
65 to 74 years 4,166 15.70% 0.00%
75 years and over 2,456 4.60% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Wise 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 27,557 48.70% 10.60%
Black or African American 1,928 26.50% 2.50%
American Indian and Alaska Native 62 67.70% 0.00%
Asian 190 36.30% 8.70%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 170 47.10% 0.00%
Two or more races 429 42.90% 41.50%
Hispanic or Latino 405 47.40% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 27,415 48.80% 10.70%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Wise 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 Wise County is 12,783, with median earnings of $34,136.00.

Women in Wise County, Virginia earning approximately 66.40% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 12,783 $34,136.00
Male 6,841 $40,980.00
Female 5,942 $27,197.00

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 963 $60,697.00
Business and Financial 260 $55,743.00
Computer and Mathematical 520 $43,244.00
Architecture and Engineering 133 $40,990.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 145 $47,361.00
Community and Social Service 295 $39,612.00
Legal 60 $39,674.00
Educational and Library 1,170 $42,041.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 81 $29,886.00
Healthcare Practitioners 837 $48,843.00
Healthcare Support 625 $21,565.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 32 $24,750.00
Law Enforcement 470 $41,556.00
Food Preparation and Serving 826 $12,448.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 537 $9,772.00
Personal Care and Service 210 $9,375.00
Sales 1,081 $13,595.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,849 $27,917.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 35 $18,281.00
Construction and Extraction 854 $49,057.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 433 $45,529.00
Production 504 $45,909.00
Transportation and Material Moving 457 $37,682.00

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 619 $66,648.00 344 $37,685.00
Business and Financial 99 $81,853.00 161 $42,122.00
Computer and Mathematical 393 $43,327.00 127 $42,634.00
Architecture and Engineering 124 $40,521.00 9 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 110 $50,500.00 35 $9,402.00
Community and Social Service 54 $46,667.00 241 $38,350.00
Legal 14 $0.00 46 $38,913.00
Educational and Library 572 $48,768.00 598 $39,167.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 56 $40,682.00 25 $4,904.00
Healthcare Practitioners 112 $99,398.00 725 $37,301.00
Healthcare Support 14 $22,188.00 611 $21,526.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 32 $24,750.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 420 $41,582.00 50 $34,167.00
Food Preparation and Serving 459 $11,871.00 367 $14,757.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 333 $8,992.00 204 $19,268.00
Personal Care and Service 30 $6,548.00 180 $11,458.00
Sales 474 $26,900.00 607 $11,535.00
Office and Administrative Support 417 $27,238.00 1,432 $28,053.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 35 $18,281.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 840 $49,387.00 14 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 429 $45,337.00 4 $0.00
Production 451 $50,080.00 53 $6,226.00
Transportation and Material Moving 355 $43,042.00 102 $19,419.00

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 14,025 households in Wise County, with an average household size of 2.4 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 9,262 families in Wise County with an average family size of 2.9 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 6,926 631 1,705 4,763
Average Household Size 2.9 3.21 3.34 1.22
Total Families 6,926 631 1,705 0
Average Household Size 2.9 2.46 3.04 0

Poverty

Of the 9,262 families in Wise County, 14.40% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Wise 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 16,820 housing units in Wise County, Virginia.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 14,025 83.38%
Vacant 2,795 16.62%

18.28% of the total 16,820 housing units in Wise County are rental units. This is approximately 3,074 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 9,933 are occupied by the owner - or 59.05% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Wise County is $636.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Wise 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
    1,018
  • Less than $500
    913
  • $500 to $999
    1,729
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    352
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    42
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    38
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Wise County is $94,800.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    2,025
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    3,141
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    1,719
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,293
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,234
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    333
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    157
  • $1,000,000 or more
    31

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    1,893
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,256
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,271
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,104
  • 1970 to 1979
    3,570
  • 1980 to 1989
    2,431
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,731
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,782
  • 2010 to 2013
    771
  • 2014 or later
    11

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 Wise County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,239
  • 1 vehicle available
    4,823
  • 2 vehicles available
    4,666
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,297

Commuting to Work

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

22.2 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Wise 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
    775
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,095
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,964
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    1,704
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,407
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    882
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    913
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    202
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    196
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    767
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    541
  • 90 or more minutes
    310

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Wise 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 Wise County, Virginia

We have data for 10 places in Wise County, Virginia. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.