Montgomery County, Virginia

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Montgomery County

| state = Virginia

| seal = MontCoSeal.jpg

| motto = Freedom Increases Responsibility

| founded = 1772

| named for = Richard Montgomery

| seat wl = Christiansburg

| largest city = Blacksburg

| city type = town

| area_total_sq_mi = 389

| area_land_sq_mi = 387

| area_water_sq_mi = 2.2

| area percentage = 0.6

| population_as_of = 2020

| population_total = 99721 {{increase}}

| pop_est_footnotes =

| pop_est_as_of =

| population_est =

| population_density_sq_mi = 256

| web = www.montva.com

| ex image = Montgomery County Courthouse - new.JPG

| ex image cap = Montgomery County Courthouse

| time zone = Eastern

| district = 9th

}}

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 United States census, the population was 99,721. Its county seat is Christiansburg,{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}} 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,{{Cite web|url=https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/TotalEnrollment/State/VA|title=Rankings {{!}} Largest U.S. colleges - Universities with the highest enrollment {{!}} State {{!}} Virginia (VA)|website=www.collegeraptor.com|language=en|access-date=September 5, 2018}} which is the county's largest employer.{{Cite web|url=http://virginialmi.com/report_center/community_profiles/5104000121.pdf|title=Virginia Community Profile: Montgomery County|last=Virginia Employment Commission|date=August 30, 2018|website=Virginia Labor Market Information|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905214923/http://virginialmi.com/report_center/community_profiles/5104000121.pdf|archive-date=September 5, 2018|url-status=dead}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.montgomerycountyva.gov/Elected-Officials/board-of-supervisors|title = About the Board of Supervisors}}

Supervisor	District
class="wikitable"
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newrivernotes.com/montgomery_index.htm|title = Montgomery County Index Page}}

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 {{convert|389|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|387|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|2.2|sqmi}} (0.6%) is water.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}} The western part of the county is in the New River watershed. Montgomery County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission,{{cite web |title=About the Appalachian Region |url=https://www.arc.gov/about-the-appalachian-region/ |publisher=Appalachian Regional Commission |access-date=21 June 2024}} and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.{{cite web |last1=Woodard |first1=Colin |title=The Maps That Show That City vs. Country Is Not Our Political Fault Line |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/opinion/urban-rural-united-states-regions-midterms.html |work=New York Times |access-date=30 July 2018}}

=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=

{{columns-list|colwidth=10em|

{{Jct|state=VA|Future|73}}
{{Jct|state=VA|I|81}}
{{Jct|state=VA|US|11}}
{{Jct|state=VA|US|460}}
{{Jct|state=VA|SR|8}}
{{Jct|state=VA|SR|111}}
{{Jct|state=VA|SR|114}}
{{Jct|state=VA|SR|177}}
{{Jct|state=VA|SR|232}}
{{Jct|state=VA|SR|314}}
{{Jct|state=VA|SR|412}}

}}

=U.S. Bicycle Route=

{{jct|state=VA|USBR|76}} enters Montgomery County from Radford and crosses the county for 27.9 miles to Roanoke County

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1790= 13228

|1800= 9044

|1810= 8409

|1820= 8733

|1830= 12306

|1840= 7405

|1850= 8359

|1860= 10617

|1870= 12556

|1880= 16693

|1890= 17742

|1900= 15852

|1910= 17268

|1920= 18595

|1930= 19605

|1940= 21206

|1950= 29780

|1960= 32923

|1970= 47157

|1980= 63516

|1990= 73913

|2000= 83629

|2010= 94392

|2020= 99721

|estref=

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=January 24, 2022}}
1790-1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=January 3, 2014}} 1900-1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/va190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 3, 2014}}
1990-2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 3, 2014}} 2010-2015{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51121.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 3, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607062116/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51121.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}} 2020[https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-population-and-housing-state-data.html 2020 Population and Housing State Data | Virginia]

}}

=2020 census=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Montgomery County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|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{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Montgomery County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51121&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!Pop 2020{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Montgomery County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51121&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!% 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%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 99,721 people living in the county. The population density was {{convert|257.8|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people}}.

=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,{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} there were 83,629 people, 30,997 households, and 17,203 families living in the county. The population density was {{convert|215|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people}}. There were 32,527 housing units at an average density of {{convert|84|/mi2|/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 was a bellwether county, backing the national winner in every election from 1980 to 2008. The county backed the losing candidate, by a very narrow margin of 103 votes in 2012. It voted against Republican Donald Trump in all three of his runs.

{{PresHead|place=Montgomery County, Virginia|source={{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 3, 2018}}}}

Climate

{{Weather box

|location = Blacksburg

|single line = Y

|Jan high F = 42

|Feb high F = 45

|Mar high F = 53

|Apr high F = 63

|May high F = 71

|Jun high F = 79

|Jul high F = 82

|Aug high F = 81

|Sep high F = 75

|Oct high F = 65

|Nov high F = 56

|Dec high F = 44

|Jan low F = 21

|Feb low F = 24

|Mar low F = 30

|Apr low F = 38

|May low F = 47

|Jun low F = 56

|Jul low F = 60

|Aug low F = 59

|Sep low F = 51

|Oct low F = 39

|Nov low F = 31

|Dec low F = 24

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.08

|Feb precipitation inch = 2.81

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.64

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.48

|May precipitation inch = 4.33

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.00

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.26

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.59

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.10

|Oct precipitation inch = 2.78

|Nov precipitation inch = 2.87

|Dec precipitation inch = 2.95

|source 1 = U.S. Climate Data{{cite web

| url = https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/blacksburg/virginia/united-states/usva0068| title = Average Weather for Blacksburg, VA | access-date = April 1, 2021

| publisher = U.S. Climate Data }}

|date=April 2021

}}