Roanoke

Population & Demographics

Roanoke, VA

Roanoke is home to 98,355 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 43,187 resident workers commute each day.

VirginiaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
98,355
people
Population

98,355 residents

Median age 38.3 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Roanoke population & demographics

Who lives in Roanoke — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
98,355
Median age
38.3yrs
Median household income
$55,378
Median home value
$190,500
Median gross rent
$996/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
30.0%
Poverty rate
18.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Roanoke

How Roanoke breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White55.3%
Black27.7%
Hispanic or Latino9.0%
Two or more races4.1%
Asian3.1%
Some other race0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%

Race across Roanoke

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Roanoke.

Roanoke at a glance
Employed Residents
43,187
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
5.6mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
43.3%
Share working within the area
Work from home
11.8%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Salem
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Roanoke proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Roanoke commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

77
Commute Score

77 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Roanoke

43,187 commutes, one dot at a time

Roanoke

Where 43,187 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Roanoke, by worker count.

1Roanoke0.0 mi18,720
2Salem5.6 mi4,051
3Hollins4.4 mi2,288
4Cave Spring4.2 mi2,197
5Blacksburg25.6 mi581
6Daleville9.8 mi499
7Glenvar9.4 mi485
8Lynchburg43.8 mi482

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Roanoke.

1Roanoke0.0 mi18,720
2Cave Spring4.2 mi4,674
3Salem5.6 mi3,041
4Hollins4.4 mi2,502
5Vinton3.4 mi1,369
6Lynchburg43.8 mi804
7Christiansburg26.6 mi709
8Blue Ridge10.3 mi544

Top industries

The sectors that employ Roanoke’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance21.9%
RTRetail Trade10.7%
AFAccommodation and Food Services8.2%
COConstruction6.5%
TRTransportation and Warehousing6.3%
MFManufacturing5.8%
EDEducational Services5.7%
MGManagement of Companies and Enterprises5.0%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services4.8%
Connectivity

Internet options for Roanoke

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

10 providers · 2 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps100%
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Roanoke

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).