Surry County, Virginia Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Surry County, VA Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
-
C
Health Below averageLess healthy than 76% of counties in Virginia
-
C
Income Below average
-
D
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Surry County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,549 | 8,702,460 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 21.1 | 203.3 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.34% | 0.57% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 50.7 | 37.4 | 37.3 |
| Households | 2,830 | 3,364,625 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Surry County declined by 6.8% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 6,549 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Surry County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 24.4% of residents. That is 4.0 points above Virginia as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 1,145 17.5% -3.9 pts
- Millennials 29–44 1,124 17.2% -5.2 pts
- Gen X 45–60 1,599 24.4% +4.0 pts
- Boomers 61–79 1,578 24.1% +7.6 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Virginia, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 50.6% of the people living in Surry County and men 49.4%.
- Women 50.6% Virginia 50.6%
- Men 49.4% Virginia 49.4%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Surry County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Surry County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.
| Metric | Surry County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $76,562 | $93,527 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.73% | 4.33% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.0% | 4.1% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Surry County is about 18% lower than in Virginia.
Housing
| Metric | Surry County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $64,642 | $256,082 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $982 | $1,579 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 79.5% | 67.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Surry County is about 5.5 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $982 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Surry County spend about 81 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 338 hours, about 14.1 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Surry County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 40.5 | 23.2 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 81.1 | 46.3 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 338 | 193 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $10,473 | $5,986 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 6.7% | 18.3% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 12,691 | 10,059 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,096 | 1,531 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Virginia:
Lexington city (10.6 min), Covington city (12.2 min), Norton city (13.1 min).
Slowest:
Amelia County (43.7 min), Craig County (41.3 min), Buckingham County (41.3 min).
The average commute time in Surry County is 41 minutes, longer than the 23 minutes in Virginia.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Surry County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Surry County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 24.0% | 37.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.31 | 2.52 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Virginia:
Falls Church city (0.6), Arlington County (0.6), Alexandria city (0.5).
Lowest:
Greensville County (0.2), Lunenburg County (0.2), Buchanan County (0.2).
Health
Surry County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Surry County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.6 | 77.3 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 20.1% | 16.9% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 20.6% | 19.0% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Virginia:
Falls Church city (0.8), Arlington County (0.8), Fairfax County (0.8).
Lowest:
Emporia city (0.7), Petersburg city (0.8), Galax city (0.8).
Surry County, VA Compared With Nearby Counties
Surry County, VA is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 6,549 residents against a local median of 43,064. Where Surry County, VA breaks from the counties next to it is commute, sitting 90% above the local median of 21.3 min at 40.5 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $64,642 against a local median of $169,642, 62% below it. Every measure here with a clear better direction points the same way, and it is the wrong way: Surry County, VA reads weaker than its neighbours on all of them. The counties themselves sit within 8.0 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Surry County, VA, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Surry County, VA has the 4th lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surry County, VA | 6,549 | $76,562 #4/4 | $64,642 #4/4 | 40.5 min #4/4 |
| James City County, VA | 81,013 | $109,376 | $408,474 | 21.3 min |
| Isle of Wight County, VA | 39,974 | $94,885 | $169,642 | 28.8 min |
| Prince George County, VA | 43,064 | $87,311 | $73,953 | 20.8 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Surry County, Virginia.
How many people live in Surry County, Virginia?
About 6,549 people live in Surry County, Virginia, in 2,830 households of 2.3 people on average. The median age is 50.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 13 years.
Is Surry County, Virginia urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Surry County, Virginia has 21 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 24% of the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Surry County, Virginia?
The median home costs 0.8 times the median household income ($64,642 against $76,562), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $982 a month takes about 15% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How common is a college degree in Surry County, Virginia?
24.0% of adults in Surry County, Virginia hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 4), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →