county

Amherst County, VA

Demographic and economic profile of Amherst County, VA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Amherst County is a small rural county of 31,385 residents with a relatively older workforce (median age 43.4) and modest educational attainment, with 23.0% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and a labor force participation rate of 60.2%. Median household income stands at $68,724, worker earnings at $40,998, and housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $197,200 and median gross rent of $842 per month against an 80.8% homeownership rate. The county posted a slight population decline of 1.6% over five years, unemployment sits at 3.8%, and a GDP per capita of $25,640 reflects a modest output economy.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

31,385

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$68,724

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.6% since 2018

Amherst County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone23,348 (74.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone5,358 (17.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,181 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race792 (2.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone504 (1.6%)
  • Asian Alone217 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish421
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)58
  3. 3.Other Indo-European57
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)41
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic40

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,797

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$25,640

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,275

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,992
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,036
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,828
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,150
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services971

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations5,390
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations3,201
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,545
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,157
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,250

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.38×)2,053
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.24×)876
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.23×)1,265
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.13×)1,826
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.11×)3,880

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$197,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$842/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,638 (16.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,523 (14.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,129 (11.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,080 (10.5%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999983 (9.6%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999867 (8.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,998

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone11,175 (78.0%)
  • Worked At Home1,441 (10.1%)
  • Carpooled1,290 (9.0%)
  • Walked198 (1.4%)
  • Other183 (1.3%)
  • Public Transit26 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.