Highland County, Virginia

Home values and their change

The median value of owner-occupied homes in Highland County was $200,000, give or take $40,223. That is lower than in Virginia ($383,700, give or take $1,024) and lower than in the United States ($332,700, give or take $236). (ACS 2020-2024, table B25077)

FHFA does not publish a house price index for Highland County, most often because too few mortgages were recorded there, so this report shows no price change over time for the county. (FHFA HPI, 2025)

The median home value in Highland County was 3.05 times the median household income, give or take 0.83. That is lower than in Virginia (4.12, give or take 0.02) and lower than in the United States (4.12, give or take 0.01). (ACS 2020-2024, tables B19013 and B25077)

The median home value is what owners told the survey their home is worth. It is not a sale price.

The FHFA index tracks repeat sales and appraisals on mortgages bought or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It measures change, not a price in dollars.

Rents

Median gross rent in Highland County was $856 a month, give or take $213. That is lower than in Virginia ($1,579, give or take $8) and lower than in the United States ($1,413, give or take $2). (ACS 2020-2024, table B25064)

The median renter household in Highland County spent 33.0 percent of its income on gross rent, give or take 23.7 points. That is not measurably different from Virginia (29.4 percent, give or take 0.2 points) and not measurably different from the United States (30.6 percent, give or take 0.1 points). Not measurably different means the gap is inside the margin of error. The margin on the county figure is wide, so read it as rough. (ACS 2020-2024, table B25071)

Gross rent is the contract rent plus what the renter pays for utilities and fuels. It covers all renters in the survey, not only homes on the market now.

Household income

Median household income in Highland County was $65,625, give or take $11,958. That is lower than in Virginia ($93,170, give or take $458) and lower than in the United States ($80,734, give or take $166). (ACS 2020-2024, table B19013)

Income is for the past twelve months, in the dollars of the last year of the survey period.

The share of income spent on housing

The survey sample in Highland County is too small to give a usable figure for the share of renters paying 30 percent or more of income in rent: the margin of error is as large as the estimate. The figure and its margin are in the table of all figures. (ACS 2020-2024, table B25070)

In Highland County, 9.7 percent of renter households, give or take 7.2 points, paid 50 percent or more of their income in rent. (ACS 2020-2024, table B25070)

In Highland County, 15.0 percent of owner households, give or take 6.3 points, paid 30 percent or more of their income in housing costs. That is not measurably different from Virginia (20.5 percent, give or take 0.2 points) and lower than in the United States (22.7 percent, give or take 0.1 points). Not measurably different means the gap is inside the margin of error. (ACS 2020-2024, table B25091)

Housing costs at 30 percent or more of income is a common yardstick in housing statistics. It describes a group. It is not a judgment about any household.

Households for which the survey could not compute the share are left out of both the count and the base.

Owners and renters

In Highland County, 88.9 percent of households, give or take 3.5 points, owned their home. That is higher than in Virginia (67.3 percent, give or take 0.4 points) and higher than in the United States (65.2 percent, give or take 0.3 points). (ACS 2020-2024, table B25003)

The survey counted 892 owner households, give or take 108, and 111 renter households, give or take 55. (ACS 2020-2024, table B25003)

New permits

Building permits authorized 11 new homes in Highland County in 2025: 11 single-family homes, 0 in buildings of two to four homes and 0 in buildings of five or more homes. (Building Permits Survey, 2025)

Permit offices reported 5 of those homes. The Census Bureau estimated the rest for offices that did not report all year. (Building Permits Survey, 2025)

Set against the homes already standing, that is 5.9 homes authorized per 1,000 existing homes. That is lower than in Virginia (9.0) and lower than in the United States (10.0). (Building Permits Survey, 2025; ACS 2020-2024, table B25001)

From 2015 to 2025 the yearly count ranged from 9 (in 2023) to 14 (in 2018). (Building Permits Survey, 2015 to 2025)

A permit authorizes building. It does not show that a home was started or finished.

The Census Bureau publishes no margin of error in the annual county permit files.

Vacancy

In Highland County, 46.2 percent of homes, give or take 4.6 points, were vacant when surveyed. That is higher than in Virginia (8.7 percent, give or take 0.2 points) and higher than in the United States (10.1 percent, give or take 0.1 points). (ACS 2020-2024, table B25002)

In Highland County, 30.0 percent of all homes, give or take 6.1 points, were held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. That is higher than in Virginia (2.0 percent, give or take 0.1 points) and higher than in the United States (3.3 percent). (ACS 2020-2024, tables B25002 and B25004)

The survey counts a home as vacant if no one lives there as a usual residence when surveyed. Homes held for seasonal or occasional use are counted as vacant.

Change between the two survey periods

The two survey periods do not overlap, so their figures can be set side by side.

Dollar figures are in the dollars of each period and are not adjusted for inflation.

County, state and nation: all figures

Each cell shows the estimate, with its margin of error on the line under it where the source publishes one.