Living in Amherst, VA
Amherst is a small town of 1,865 people in Amherst County, Virginia. It's about 15 miles from Lynchburg, VA and 86 miles from Richmond, VA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 87°F and winter highs 48°F, with about 15 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $221k and rent runs about $718 a month.
1,865people
$221kTypical home
$718/moRent
87° / 48°Summer / winter
15"Snow
235Sunny days
93Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,865
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 380 people per sq mi
- 86 mi to Richmond, VA
- 15 mi to Lynchburg, VA
- 10 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $221k (≈$1,392/mo)
- Median rent $718/mo
- Median household income $71k
- Property tax about 0.4% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 87°F
- Winter highs around 48°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 64°F)
- 235 sunny days a year (81 totally clear)
- 130 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 93 days a year with rain or snow
- 15" of snow a year
- 4 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 5 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (132 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (800 per 100k)
People
- Median age 50
- 17% of households have kids
- 29% are 65 or older
- 26% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 23 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 19 mi to LYH airport
- 95 mi to RIC (major hub)
- 13 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 77% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1974
- 87% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 722 ft
- 99 mi to the ocean
- 43 mi to a big lake
- 13 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 24 mi to the nearest ski area
- 13 mi to the nearest campground
- 10 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 151 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 35 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 24 museums within 25 mi
- 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 13 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Grocery store in town
- 16 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 31 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 13 mi to the nearest dog park
- 14 congregations per 10k people
- 3 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Amherst County: R+37 in 2024
- Virginia: D+6 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk