IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Rural Retreat, VA
Rural Retreat is a small town of 1,644 people in Wythe County, Virginia. It's about 52 miles from Blacksburg, VA and 120 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 81°F and winter highs 41°F, with about 30 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $186k and rent runs about $800 a month.
1,644people
$186kTypical home
$800/moRent
81° / 41°Summer / winter
30"Snow
224Sunny days
146Rain/snow days
Is Rural Retreat right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 1,644
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 722 people per sq mi
- 120 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 52 mi to Blacksburg, VA
- 42 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $186k (≈$1,172/mo)
- Median rent $800/mo
- Median household income $62k
- Property tax about 0.5% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 81°F
- Winter highs around 41°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 224 sunny days a year (75 totally clear)
- 141 cloudy days a year
- 44 of 90 winter days are gray
- 146 days a year with rain or snow
- 30" of snow a year
- 11 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 11 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (75 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (729 per 100k)
People
- Median age 41
- 31% of households have kids
- 20% are 65 or older
- 22% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 5% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 26 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 62 mi to BKW airport
- 93 mi to GSO (major hub)
- 57 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 79% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1976
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 2,582 ft
- 222 mi to the ocean
- 86 mi to a big lake
- 28 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 48 mi to the nearest ski area
- 8 mi to the nearest campground
- 6 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 67 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 3 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 11 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 44% of Virginia districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 10 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 28 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 25 mi to the nearest vet
- 31 mi to the nearest dog park
- 11 congregations per 10k people
- 24 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Wythe County: R+60 in 2024
- Virginia: D+6 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk