There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Virginia that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.
Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Old Dominion are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Virginia’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.
Like Poquoson, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Oklahoma according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Poquoson. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Virginia as well.
Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.
The 10 Most Boring Places In Virginia
Don’t freak out, in fact, believe it not, a boring city is actually one a lot of people would like to call home.
Before you get all upset if your city’s name is on the list, rest assured that we didn’t use personal opinion when it comes to what classifies a city or town as “boring” or “exciting”. We crunched actual numbers to figure out which towns are statistically more boring.
Showing this data to you is the kind of thing that a real estate agent knows, but would never share.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Most Boring Places In Virginia For 2023
/10
Average Age: 42.4
% Married: 32.0%
More on Poquoson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 45.6
% Married: 23.0%
More on Smithfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 45.2
% Married: 37.0%
More on Richlands: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 45.2
% Married: 22.0%
More on Wytheville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 41.9
% Married: 39.0%
More on Covington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 44.3
% Married: 29.0%
More on Marion: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 38.8
% Married: 28.0%
More on Franklin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 46.4
% Married: 26.0%
More on Abingdon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 38.3
% Married: 23.0%
More on Big Stone Gap: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Average Age: 38.5
% Married: 22.0%
More on Suffolk: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Old Dominion
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in Virginia. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.
We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. HSome of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
- % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
- Average Age (higher is more boring)
- % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every Virginia city with at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.
Grab your rocker and hold on.
We updated this article for 2023, and it’s our tenth time ranking the most boring cities in Virginia.
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since Virginia isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in Virginia, according to science:
- Lexington
- Blacksburg
- Williamsburg
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In Virginia
- Richest Cities In Virginia
- Safest Places In Virginia
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Virginia
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In Virginia For 2023
| Rank | City | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poquoson, VA | 12,479 | 42.4 | 32.0% | 39.1% |
| 2 | Smithfield, VA | 8,625 | 45.6 | 23.0% | 26.5% |
| 3 | Richlands, VA | 5,266 | 45.2 | 37.0% | 22.8% |
| 4 | Wytheville, VA | 8,228 | 45.2 | 22.0% | 24.2% |
| 5 | Covington, VA | 5,722 | 41.9 | 39.0% | 28.9% |
| 6 | Marion, VA | 5,722 | 44.3 | 29.0% | 28.1% |
| 7 | Franklin, VA | 8,194 | 38.8 | 28.0% | 32.9% |
| 8 | Abingdon, VA | 8,346 | 46.4 | 26.0% | 19.7% |
| 9 | Big Stone Gap, VA | 5,221 | 38.3 | 23.0% | 34.0% |
| 10 | Suffolk, VA | 94,856 | 38.5 | 22.0% | 32.8% |
| 11 | Pulaski, VA | 8,982 | 40.7 | 26.0% | 26.3% |
| 12 | South Boston, VA | 7,942 | 41.6 | 19.0% | 31.8% |
| 13 | Emporia, VA | 5,680 | 39.9 | 22.0% | 33.5% |
| 14 | Christiansburg, VA | 22,947 | 39.1 | 25.0% | 28.8% |
| 15 | Chesapeake, VA | 249,377 | 37.4 | 20.0% | 37.6% |
| 16 | Vinton, VA | 8,045 | 41.1 | 27.0% | 30.8% |
| 17 | Galax, VA | 6,687 | 42.6 | 23.0% | 28.3% |
| 18 | Front Royal, VA | 15,064 | 37.7 | 23.0% | 33.4% |
| 19 | Staunton, VA | 25,581 | 41.0 | 20.0% | 25.5% |
| 20 | Bristol, VA | 17,036 | 43.7 | 20.0% | 22.7% |
| 21 | Salem, VA | 25,372 | 40.8 | 26.0% | 28.4% |
| 22 | Waynesboro, VA | 22,341 | 38.7 | 19.0% | 30.0% |
| 23 | Bluefield, VA | 5,059 | 38.9 | 15.0% | 36.9% |
| 24 | Danville, VA | 42,507 | 41.0 | 21.0% | 21.9% |
| 25 | Colonial Heights, VA | 18,158 | 38.4 | 22.0% | 32.7% |
| 26 | Woodstock, VA | 5,798 | 38.4 | 17.0% | 34.6% |
| 27 | Buena Vista, VA | 6,639 | 35.3 | 33.0% | 28.1% |
| 28 | Martinsville, VA | 13,539 | 39.9 | 20.0% | 22.9% |
| 29 | Hopewell, VA | 23,046 | 35.7 | 22.0% | 33.9% |
| 30 | Virginia Beach, VA | 457,900 | 37.1 | 14.0% | 32.5% |
| 31 | Warrenton, VA | 10,111 | 38.2 | 14.0% | 30.9% |
| 32 | Strasburg, VA | 7,104 | 36.8 | 21.0% | 31.3% |
| 33 | Roanoke, VA | 99,213 | 38.1 | 18.0% | 23.6% |
| 34 | Vienna, VA | 16,401 | 41.2 | 7.0% | 43.4% |
| 35 | Hampton, VA | 137,217 | 36.5 | 16.0% | 29.5% |
| 36 | Purcellville, VA | 8,928 | 35.5 | 14.0% | 48.6% |
| 37 | Culpeper, VA | 20,105 | 34.3 | 17.0% | 42.1% |
| 38 | Portsmouth, VA | 97,384 | 35.6 | 18.0% | 30.6% |
| 39 | Petersburg, VA | 33,261 | 36.6 | 12.0% | 20.9% |
| 40 | Falls Church, VA | 14,576 | 38.8 | 6.0% | 35.1% |
| 41 | Winchester, VA | 28,103 | 36.6 | 15.0% | 27.7% |
| 42 | Manassas Park, VA | 17,123 | 35.8 | 7.0% | 38.3% |
| 43 | Leesburg, VA | 48,465 | 34.8 | 9.0% | 43.8% |
| 44 | Ashland, VA | 7,617 | 31.0 | 15.0% | 23.8% |
| 45 | Fairfax, VA | 24,242 | 37.5 | 7.0% | 30.3% |
| 46 | Manassas, VA | 42,620 | 35.1 | 9.0% | 35.3% |
| 47 | Herndon, VA | 24,456 | 35.5 | 5.0% | 37.2% |
| 48 | Newport News, VA | 185,118 | 34.1 | 13.0% | 28.9% |
| 49 | Dumfries, VA | 5,697 | 29.9 | 9.0% | 52.6% |
| 50 | Richmond, VA | 227,171 | 34.5 | 13.0% | 19.8% |
| 51 | Alexandria, VA | 157,594 | 37.4 | 4.0% | 20.9% |
| 52 | Lynchburg, VA | 79,166 | 28.4 | 15.0% | 25.7% |
| 53 | Bridgewater, VA | 6,575 | 32.1 | 15.0% | 27.8% |
| 54 | Norfolk, VA | 236,973 | 32.2 | 12.0% | 27.8% |
| 55 | Fredericksburg, VA | 28,258 | 30.9 | 11.0% | 23.7% |
| 56 | Radford, VA | 16,379 | 23.3 | 14.0% | 22.4% |
| 57 | Harrisonburg, VA | 51,784 | 25.4 | 9.0% | 28.4% |
| 58 | Farmville, VA | 7,647 | 24.4 | 8.0% | 17.1% |
| 59 | Charlottesville, VA | 46,289 | 32.4 | 11.0% | 22.6% |
| 60 | Williamsburg, VA | 15,486 | 24.6 | 9.0% | 16.0% |
| 61 | Blacksburg, VA | 45,147 | 21.7 | 6.0% | 18.9% |
| 62 | Lexington, VA | 7,346 | 22.7 | 5.0% | 17.9% |
How on earth is Gretna va not on that list??? Lol
I don’t understand the concept that the older the population, the more boring the city. In Poquoson there are some of the most interesting people: military, NASA scientists, Jefferson Lab scientists, highly trained and skilled people from the Newport News Shipyard, many professional people with PHDs, medical degrees, lawyers, professors, etc and watermen plying an ancient and interesting trade with skill and pride. It is considered one of the safest places in the state with excellent schools and a community that looks out for each other. Just because you may be married does not make you boring nor does having children. I believe your study is based on flawed premises.
lol at Chesapeake @ # 11. Sounds about right.
How is Farmville number 50? I definitely thought it’d be top 10
Martinsville should have been in the top 3! All that is here is the racetrack and a natural history museum. Other than that, not anything interesting is here.