Montgomery County, Virginia

Montgomery County
Montgomery County
County
	Montgomery County Courthouse
	Seal
	Motto: Freedom Increases Responsibility
	Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
	Virginia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°10′N 80°23′W / 37.17°N 80.39°W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1772
Named for	Richard Montgomery
Seat	Christiansburg
Largest town	Blacksburg
Area
• Total	389 sq mi (1,010 km2)
• Land	387 sq mi (1,000 km2)
• Water	2.2 sq mi (6 km2) 0.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	99,721
• Density	256/sq mi (99/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	9th
Website	www.montva.com

Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,721.^[1] Its county seat is Christiansburg,^[2] and Blacksburg is the largest town. Montgomery County is part of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan area. It is dominated economically by the presence of Virginia Tech, Virginia's third largest public university,^[3] which is the county's largest employer.^[4]

Board of Supervisors

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors sets the annual budget and tax rates, enacts legislation governing the county and its citizens, sets policies and oversees their implementation. There are seven supervisors; one is elected from each of the seven geographic districts. Terms are four years; three or four seats are up for re-election each odd year.^[5]

Supervisor	District
Sara Bohn	A
Derek Kitts	B
Steve Fijalkowski	C
Todd King	D
Anthony Grafsky	E
Mary Biggs	F
April DeMotts	G

History

Montgomery County was established on December 31, 1776, made from parts of Fincastle County, which was disbanded at this time and split into Montgomery, Washington, and Kentucky counties. Later, Montgomery lost land to form counties which now border it, including some counties which later formed West Virginia.^[6]

The county is named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 389 square miles (1,010 km²), of which 387 square miles (1,000 km²) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) (0.6%) is water.^[7] The western part of the county is in the New River watershed.

Adjacent counties and city

Craig County - Northeast
Giles County - Northwest
City of Radford - West
Pulaski County - Southwest
Floyd County - South
Roanoke County - East

National protected area

Jefferson National Forest (part)

Major highways

U.S. Bicycle Route

USBR 76 enters Montgomery County from Radford and crosses the county for 27.9 miles to Roanoke County

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	13,228	—
1800	9,044	−31.6%
1810	8,409	−7.0%
1820	8,733	3.9%
1830	12,306	40.9%
1840	7,405	−39.8%
1850	8,359	12.9%
1860	10,617	27.0%
1870	12,556	18.3%
1880	16,693	32.9%
1890	17,742	6.3%
1900	15,852	−10.7%
1910	17,268	8.9%
1920	18,595	7.7%
1930	19,605	5.4%
1940	21,206	8.2%
1950	29,780	40.4%
1960	32,923	10.6%
1970	47,157	43.2%
1980	63,516	34.7%
1990	73,913	16.4%
2000	83,629	13.1%
2010	94,392	12.9%
2020	99,721	5.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1960^[9] 1900-1990^[10] 1990-2000^[11] 2010-2015^[12] 2020^[1]

2020 census

**Montgomery County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010^[13]	Pop 2020^[14]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	81,091	77,918	85.91%	78.14%
Black or African American alone (NH)	3,631	4,054	3.85%	4.07%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	154	126	0.16%	0.13%
Asian alone (NH)	5,089	8,310	5.39%	8.33%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	21	45	0.02%	0.05%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	117	307	0.12%	0.31%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	1,753	4,310	1.86%	4.32%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,536	4,651	2.69%	4.66%
Total	94,392	99,721	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 99,721 people living in the county. The population density was 257.8 people per square mile (99.5 people/km²).

2010 Census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 94,392 people living in the county. 87.6% were White, 5.4% Asian, 3.9% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% of some other race and 2.1% of two or more races. 2.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 Census

As of the 2000 United States Census,^[15] there were 83,629 people, 30,997 households, and 17,203 families living in the county. The population density was 215 people per square mile (83 people/km²). There were 32,527 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile (32/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.00% White, 3.97% Asian, 3.65% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 30,997 households, out of which 25.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.80% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.50% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 17.10% under the age of 18, 31.30% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 17.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.00 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 110.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,330, and the median income for a family was $47,239. Males had a median income of $33,674 versus $23,555 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,077. About 8.80% of families and 23.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Despite being in the Solid South, Montgomery County did not consistently back Democratic candidates in the 20th century, being consistently Republican due to Unionist sentiment in the area during the Civil War, though the presence of a major university in Virginia Tech helped make the county more competitive to the Democratic Party towards the end of that streak. It has since become a bellwether county, backing the national winner in every election from 1980 to 2008. The county backed the losing candidate, by very narrow margins of 103 votes in 2012 and 562 votes in 2016 (although it backed the popular vote winning candidate in 2016). It again backed the winning candidate in 2020, which was also the first time since 1980 that the county voted more Democratic than the nation.

United States presidential election results for Montgomery County, Virginia^[16]^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	20,629	45.80%	23,218	51.55%	1,190	2.64%
2016	19,459	45.22%	20,021	46.53%	3,551	8.25%
2012	20,006	48.78%	19,903	48.53%	1,100	2.68%
2008	19,028	46.81%	21,031	51.73%	594	1.46%
2004	17,070	54.16%	14,128	44.83%	317	1.01%
2000	13,991	51.51%	11,720	43.15%	1,449	5.34%
1996	10,517	43.28%	10,867	44.72%	2,914	11.99%
1992	10,606	42.53%	10,658	42.74%	3,671	14.72%
1988	12,326	57.48%	8,909	41.55%	209	0.97%
1984	12,428	62.88%	7,202	36.44%	135	0.68%
1980	8,222	47.41%	7,455	42.98%	1,667	9.61%
1976	7,971	50.64%	7,539	47.89%	232	1.47%
1972	9,348	70.56%	3,692	27.87%	208	1.57%
1968	7,098	61.47%	2,700	23.38%	1,749	15.15%
1964	4,604	54.23%	3,872	45.61%	13	0.15%
1960	4,270	66.25%	2,157	33.47%	18	0.28%
1956	4,598	70.10%	1,848	28.18%	113	1.72%
1952	3,881	70.68%	1,600	29.14%	10	0.18%
1948	2,070	59.60%	1,126	32.42%	277	7.98%
1944	1,936	53.67%	1,652	45.80%	19	0.53%
1940	1,890	46.38%	2,168	53.20%	17	0.42%
1936	1,852	49.88%	1,832	49.34%	29	0.78%
1932	1,522	44.70%	1,805	53.01%	78	2.29%
1928	1,861	65.81%	967	34.19%	0	0.00%
1924	964	44.44%	1,142	52.65%	63	2.90%
1920	1,160	53.78%	969	44.92%	28	1.30%
1916	891	53.45%	765	45.89%	11	0.66%
1912	349	21.87%	684	42.86%	563	35.28%
1908	795	51.39%	734	47.45%	18	1.16%
1904	725	51.16%	650	45.87%	42	2.96%
1900	1,391	53.75%	1,102	42.58%	95	3.67%
1896	1,594	53.51%	1,317	44.21%	68	2.28%
1892	1,128	40.53%	1,286	46.21%	369	13.26%
1888	1,516	50.55%	1,335	44.51%	148	4.93%
1884	1,308	47.86%	1,416	51.81%	9	0.33%
1880	601	31.08%	1,323	68.41%	10	0.52%

Climate

Climate data for Blacksburg
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	42 (6)	45 (7)	53 (12)	63 (17)	71 (22)	79 (26)	82 (28)	81 (27)	75 (24)	65 (18)	56 (13)	44 (7)	63 (17)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	21 (−6)	24 (−4)	30 (−1)	38 (3)	47 (8)	56 (13)	60 (16)	59 (15)	51 (11)	39 (4)	31 (−1)	24 (−4)	40 (5)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.08 (78)	2.81 (71)	3.64 (92)	3.48 (88)	4.33 (110)	4.00 (102)	4.26 (108)	3.59 (91)	3.10 (79)	2.78 (71)	2.87 (73)	2.95 (75)	40.89 (1,038)
Source: U.S. Climate Data^[18]