Best PlacesSmyth County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Smyth County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Smyth County ranks 1,923rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Smyth County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Smyth County
The parts of Smyth County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Saltville
It is quieter, prices have run up less, and local pay stretches further.
Chilhowie
Fewer homes sit empty and more households have young kids.
Marion
Commutes are shorter, though tree cover is thinner.
Scores across Smyth County run from about the 10th to the 76th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Smyth County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smyth County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 86% of counties
Where Smyth County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of counties
- Household income$52,234 median, better than only 12% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Smyth County
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smyth County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,234, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Smyth County's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Smyth County
Smyth County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Smyth County.
Who works in Smyth County, and how
Work in Smyth County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Smyth County
Smyth County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Smyth County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Smyth County growing, and who is moving in?
Smyth County has lost about 8% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Kingsport, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Smyth County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Smyth County, month by month
Smyth County sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 40° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 69° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Smyth County
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around Smyth County
Schools across Smyth County average a B+, better than 86% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Saltville ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Rich Valley ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Sugar Grove ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chilhowie MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Marion MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Northwood MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Chilhowie HighA · 70% proficient
- Northwood HighA− · 67% proficient
- Marion Senior HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smyth County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smyth County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Smyth County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Smyth County suits
Common questions about living in Smyth County
Is Smyth County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smyth County ranks 1,923rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cheap car insurance, and tree cover, and lowest on walkability and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Smyth County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $141,774. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $52,234 median income, cost of living beats 16% of counties.
Is Smyth County safe?
Yes, Smyth County is safer than 57% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $322 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Smyth County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 24. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 50% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Smyth County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Saltville, Chilhowie, and Marion. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Smyth County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smyth County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smyth County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Smyth County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smyth County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smyth County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smyth County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smyth County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smyth County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.