By DON FENLEY

Household growth across Southwest Virginia communities has been modest since the pandemic, but incomes have risen sharply as thousands of households moved into higher earning brackets.

An analysis of U.S. Census household income and benefits data on selected SW VA communities shows the region added just over 1,000 households between 2019 and 2024. But the most significant change was not the household growth. It was the median income of those households.

The data suggest Southwest Virginia communities connected to the Tri-Cities economy are undergoing a structural economic transition.

The region is:

• Adding households slowly
• Reducing poverty levels
• Expanding middle- and upper-income households

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That pattern mirrors trends seen across the broader Tri-Cities region, where the economy has increasingly been shaped by higher-wage healthcare, education, manufacturing and remote-work employment.

The shift toward higher incomes could have long-term effects on housing demand, retail development and local tax bases.

Communities with rising household incomes typically see stronger demand for housing, services and commercial development.

The comparison of the 2019 vs. 2024 data shows the number of households in the communities selected for the analysis with income and benefits of $100,000 or more increased by more than 2,700.

The shift reflects a broader economic trend that has been reshaping the Tri-Cities region. That trend includes rising wages, new residents entering the market with higher incomes, and more households moving into middle- and upper-income brackets.

Most of the region’s household growth occurred in a handful of communities.

Scott Co. posted the largest increase, adding 354 households, a 4% gain since 2019.

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Abingdon was one of the fastest-growing towns in the region. It added 273 households, a 7.3% increase.

Several smaller communities didn’t have as much of an increase in the raw number number of households, but their growth rates are noteworthy. They include:

• Damascus: +29%
• Gate City: +10.6%
• Nickelsville: +3.1%

At the same time, some towns saw slight declines in household totals. Those towns included Big Stone Gap, Bristol, Saltville, and Weber City.

Overall, however, the region’s household base remained largely stable. That’s an indication that  most of the economic change has been happening within the existing population rather than through rapid population growth.

Six-figure households up 40%

The number of households with income and benefits in the six-figure range increased by more than 40% overall. Much of that growth occurred in Washington Co. and Bristol, where new professional jobs and in-migration have helped expand the region’s upper-income population.

Even as the county’s total household count remained essentially stable, its income distribution shifted upward dramatically, reflecting rising wages and new higher-income households moving into the area.

The income shift was not limited to larger communities.

Several smaller towns also saw meaningful increases in higher-income households, including Gate City, Abingdon and parts of Scott Co.

In many cases, the number of households remained relatively flat while more households moved into middle- or upper-income brackets, indicating improving economic conditions rather than population expansion.

While population growth remains modest, the data show the economic profile of Southwest Virginia’s Tri-Cities communities is steadily strengthening, suggesting the region’s growth story may increasingly be defined by rising household prosperity rather than rapid population expansion.

Categories: DEMOGRAPHICS