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Place dossier plate
SheetVA-HARRISONBURG-VA · Harrisonburg, VA 51,492 pop · income 35th pct · 11 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Harrisonburg
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Harrisonburg on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Blacksburg · lowest
48,070
Blacksburg · lowest
48,070 median HH income
19.2% of the leader · rank #1
Concord · near
59,750
Concord · near
59,750 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #2
Scotland · near
59,750
Scotland · near
59,750 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #3
Lenox · near
59,750
Lenox · near
59,750 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #4
Lake City · near
59,750
Lake City · near
59,750 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #5
Harrisonburg · this city
59,752
Harrisonburg · this city
59,752 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #6
McLean · highest
250,001
McLean · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Harrisonburg on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 51,492.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Harrisonburg - the verdict
Nationally, Harrisonburg sits in the 35th percentile for household income and the 33rd percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
35th
percentile, household income
61st
percentile, home value
62nd
percentile, median rent
33rd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Harrisonburg, VA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 51,492 residents in Harrisonburg, a small city within Virginia. Households in Harrisonburg report a median income of $59,752 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 12.5%. Typical homes in Harrisonburg are valued around $278,200, and the median resident age is 25.4 years. 36.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 56.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 87 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Growing), up 19% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1960.2 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Virginia tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Virginia at 101.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,369 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Virginia's average monthly utility costs around $235 (state average). The average commute for Harrisonburg workers runs 15.6 minutes, with 68.6% driving alone and 8.6% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 33.3 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Harrisonburg's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to within-city variation to reported crime to schools and households to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Harrisonburg, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Harrisonburg?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
What can 11 Census tracts reveal inside Harrisonburg?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 11 Census tracts to this city.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Harrisonburg?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1960.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 14% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Harrisonburg?
Within Virginia, the closest population matches are McLean (50,232 residents, $250,000+ income); Leesburg (48,788 residents, $140,668 income); Tuckahoe (48,610 residents, $96,188 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Mooresville, NC (51,447 residents); Palm Desert, CA (51,551 residents); Levittown, NY (51,557 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Harrisonburg?
The NCES join finds 12 public schools within the city match. 36.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
12
Bachelor's degree+
36.7%
Poverty estimate
12.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Harrisonburg?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 68.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.6 minutes.
Public transit
1.3%
Work from home
8.6%
Drive alone
68.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 23,703 workers age 16+.
Is Harrisonburg growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -859 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 87 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-1.7%
2025 estimate
50,839
2020 estimate
51,698
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 12.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
101.1 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Virginia average
F
City profile score · Harrisonburg, VA
39/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share B-
36.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
267 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
101.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$59,752
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
12.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Harrisonburg profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 69/100 (B-) · 36.7%
Violent crime: 38/100 (F) · 267 /100k
Cost of living: 35/100 (F) · 101.1 index
Household income: 34/100 (F) · $59,752
Poverty rate: 30/100 (F) · 12.5%
Where Harrisonburg sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Harrisonburg's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Harrisonburg highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Harrisonburg, VA (this city): home $278,200, crime 1,960/100k
Mooresville, NC : home $348,500, crime 2,369/100k
Palm Desert, CA : home $491,600, crime 3,151/100k
Little Elm, TX : home $390,300, crime 557/100k
Dunwoody, GA : home $579,400, crime 3,497/100k
Lincoln, CA : home $628,500, crime 657/100k
Leesburg, VA : home $617,700, crime 1,830/100k
Charlottesville, VA : home $448,400, crime 3,550/100k
Blacksburg, VA : home $417,200, crime 792/100k
How does Harrisonburg compare to other US cities?
Harrisonburg measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income35% higher than other cities
Home value61% pricier than other cities
Median rent62% pricier than other cities
Safety33% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Virginia alone, Harrisonburg ranks #67 of 117 Virginia cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Harrisonburg against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Virginia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Virginia-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Harrisonburg near the bottom of Virginia's cities
Among the 619 Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Harrisonburg ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Harrisonburg only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#357 of 558
36th percentile in Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 619
0th percentile in Virginia
Median Home Value
#248 of 567
56th percentile in Virginia
Poverty Rate
#154 of 616
75th percentile in Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#216 of 618
65th percentile in Virginia
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Virginia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
35th percentile nationally for median household income · 33rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Harrisonburg's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Harrisonburg's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Harrisonburg's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$278,20039th percentilemore affordable than 39% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Harrisonburg's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,292 of 15,516
More affordable than 21% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#410 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 4.7×, Harrisonburg sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,292 of 15,516 and #410 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$59,752Harrisonburg, VA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Harrisonburg, VA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Harrisonburg, VA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)36.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)56.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
51,492
Median Income
$59,752
Median Home Value
$278,200
Median Age
25.4
Poverty Rate
12.5%
Labor force participation
56.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
36.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1960.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
267.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1693.0
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
12
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Harrisonburg's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
51,698 residents
2021
51,451 residents
2022
51,011 residents
2023
50,976 residents
2024
50,792 residents
2025
50,839 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Growing
Total Permits (2024)
87
housing units authorized
Single-Family
16
detached homes
Multifamily
71
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
73
73
0
$11.7M
2020
60
39
21
$11.4M
2021
36
9
27
$6.7M
2022
55
30
25
$10.5M
2023
80
42
38
$13.3M
2024
87
16
71
$12.2M
Permit volume increased 19% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.6 minutes
Drive Alone
68.6%
Carpool
13.1%
Public Transit
1.3%
Walk
5.7%
Work from Home
8.6%
Other
2.7%
Based on 23,703 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Virginia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Virginia at $235 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Virginia statewide averages, not a meter reading for Harrisonburg. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Virginia's BEA cost-of-living index is 101.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Harrisonburg is $1,369/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Virginia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 33.3 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Virginia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Harrisonburg sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Harrisonburg compares to similar-size Virginia cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.