City profile · Virginia · Census ACS 2023

Lake Wilderness, VA

Lake Wilderness's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

3,255
Residents
$115,781
Median income
$325,700
Median home
$1,369
Median rent (state)
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Starting with Lake Wilderness, VA - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Lake Wilderness.

Place dossier plate

Sheet VA-LAKE-WILDERNESS-VA · Lake Wilderness, VA 3,255 pop · income 86th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-TOP · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-MID · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 3,255
  • INC-TOP $115,781
  • COL-PAR 101.1
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-TOP 86th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Bayport
  • HOME-MID $325,700
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Bayport, MN (+ $0 income $)

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 Lake Wilderness

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lake Wilderness on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

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.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Lake Wilderness on ACS population and median household income . 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: 3,255.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $115,781. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Lake Wilderness - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Lake Wilderness lands in the 86th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

86th
percentile, household income
69th
percentile, home value
62nd
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Lake Wilderness, VA

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 3,255 residents in Lake Wilderness, a small town within Virginia. Households in Lake Wilderness report a median income of $115,781 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. Lake Wilderness's housing stock carries a median value of $325,700, and the median resident age is 34.2 years. Educational attainment runs 26.9% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 63.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

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). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,369 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Virginia run around $235, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 33.3 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Lake Wilderness'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 work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Lake Wilderness, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for local building permits, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Lake Wilderness?

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 76.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Compare commute patterns →

Question 2

Which cities make useful reference points for Lake Wilderness?

Within Virginia, the closest population matches are Marshall (3,213 residents, $98,702 income); Chincoteague (3,300 residents, $62,292 income); Blackstone (3,341 residents, $58,479 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hanceville, AL (3,255 residents); South Jacksonville, IL (3,255 residents); Orofino, ID (3,254 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Question 3

How far does income reach against housing in Lake Wilderness?

The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.0%, 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Population

3,255 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$115,781 /yr

High income · poverty 0.0% (Very low poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

101.1 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Virginia average

City profile score · Lake Wilderness, VA

70/100

4 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.

Poverty rate A+
0.0%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Household income A-
$115,781

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Bachelor's+ share C-
26.9%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

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.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Lake Wilderness profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Poverty rate, Household income, Bachelor's+ share, Cost of living. Poverty rateHousehold incomeBachelor's+ shareCost of living 70 B
Lake Wilderness profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
  • Household income: 84/100 (A-) · $115,781
  • Bachelor's+ share: 53/100 (C-) · 26.9%
  • Cost of living: 35/100 (F) · 101.1 index

How does Lake Wilderness compare to other US cities?

Where Lake Wilderness sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 86% higher than other cities
Home value 69% pricier than other cities
Median rent 62% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Lake Wilderness 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 Lake Wilderness near the bottom of Virginia's cities

Among the 619 Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lake Wilderness ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lake Wilderness only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#128 of 558
77th percentile in Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 619
0th percentile in Virginia
Median Home Value
#208 of 567
63rd percentile in Virginia
Poverty Rate
#487 of 616
0th percentile in Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#319 of 618
48th 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.

86thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

86th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Lake Wilderness's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$325,700 31st percentile more affordable than 31% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). This entry sits in this band. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Lake Wilderness $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

Lake Wilderness's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.8×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,658 of 15,516
More affordable than 64% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,905 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 2.8×, Lake Wilderness sits in the affordable band: national rank #5,658 of 15,516 and #4,905 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.

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

$115,781 Lake Wilderness, VA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Lake Wilderness, VA Lake Wilderness, VA's median household income ($115,781) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Lake Wilderness, VA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Lake Wilderness, VA median $115,781/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Lake Wilderness, 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 Lake Wilderness, VA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 26.9%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 0.0%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 63.3%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
3,255
Median Income
$115,781
Median Home Value
$325,700
Median Age
34.2
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
63.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.9%

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
76.7%
Carpool
9.4%
Public Transit
0.2%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
13.6%

Based on 1,694 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 Lake Wilderness. 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 Lake Wilderness 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 Lake Wilderness sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Lake Wilderness 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Lake Wilderness (this city) 3,255 $115,781
Marshall 3,213 $98,702
Chincoteague 3,300 $62,292
Blackstone 3,341 $58,479
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, 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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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