In addition, Blacksburg is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Blacksburg culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Blacksburg really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Blacksburg every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Blacksburg. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Blacksburg benefits directly from this.
Blacksburg, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the town.
Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 16.65 minutes getting to work every day.
Many people in Blacksburg take advantage of public transportation to get around. In fact, for the size of the town, the number of people who use the bus to commute to work is quite high. This helps to fill a need among Blacksburg citizens for affordable transportation.
Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Blacksburg, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Blacksburg is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 69.74% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Blacksburg in 2022 was $29,454, which is lower middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $117,816 for a family of four. However, Blacksburg contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Blacksburg also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 42.77% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Blacksburg is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Blacksburg home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Blacksburg residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Blacksburg include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Blacksburg is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.
