County Maps US

Buchanan County, Virginia

A county in Virginia, ranked 84 of 133 by population.

CountyFIPS 51027

Within Virginia
Buchanan County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Grundy, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
18,492
-1,755 (-8.7%) since 2020
Land area
502.9
square miles. A further 0.2% of the total area is water
Population density
36.8
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Grundy
Seat of county government.
Established
1858
167 years ago
Largest city
Grundy town
Population 815.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Buchanan County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Buchanan County, Virginia from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 731 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Buchanan County ranks

Position among the 133 counties and independent cities of Virginia, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn VirginiaNationally
Population18,49284th of 1331,909th of 3,144
Land area502.9 sq mi24th of 1332,067th of 3,144
Population density36.8 per sq mi114th of 1331,754th of 3,144
Median household income$42,886129th of 1333,007th of 3,143

Full data for Buchanan County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population18,492Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202020,247Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?20,343Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area502.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area1.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area503.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?36.8 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$42,886American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$94,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age47.8American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households7,530American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units10,321American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-149
196 births, 345 deaths
Net migration
-84
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Buchanan County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
McDowell CountyWest Virginia41 mi16,878
Dickenson CountyVirginia27 mi13,236
Pike CountyKentucky25 mi54,721
Russell CountyVirginia25 mi25,332
Tazewell CountyVirginia15 mi38,635
Mingo CountyWest Virginia5.4 mi21,455

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 133 counties and independent cities of Virginia

Open the interactive Virginia county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.