Counties / Virginia / Lunenburg County

Lunenburg County, VA

FIPS 51111 · population 12,016 · outside every metro area

$149k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$149k
▲ 1.9% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$742
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$914
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+53.8%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+1.9%FHFA HPI2025+1.7%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$150k
Surveyed gross rent$742
Rent burden 30%+33.2%
Median year built1972
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
19.3%vacant
5,908estimated housing units
Occupied tenure28.5% renter
owner 71.5%renter 28.5%
Structure mix78.8% single-family
Single-family 78.8%20+ units 0.7%Mobile home 19.4%Other 1.2%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs2,363▲ 0.3% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments354annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$925▲ 0.9% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorEducation and health services23.6% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.3%WEEKLY WAGE+0.9%Education and health services23.6%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

At a Zillow county median home value of $149,140, Lunenburg presents a price-appreciation versus income-verification tension: buyers able to validate local leases and flood exposure should investigate, while income-led buyers should be cautious because no measured market rent is published. Zillow’s June 2026 value rose 1.87% year over year; the FHFA repeat-transaction HPI’s 2025 annual reading rose 1.71%. These are distinct methods and supplied periods: the HPI corroborates direction, not a dollar home value or a rate to blend with Zillow.

02Housing economics

Carrying costs are observable, but revenue is not. The effective property-tax rate is 0.39%, and median annual property tax is $578. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $914 per month, but it is a payment standard rather than market asking rent. It must not be substituted for rent, so gross yield cannot be computed. Operating expenses, insurance quotes, vacancy, and property-specific assessments are not published, preventing a net-cash-flow conclusion.

03Demand & competition

The 2025 QCEW record shows 2,363 annual-average covered jobs located at county workplaces and a $925 average weekly covered-worker wage; it is neither resident employment nor unemployment data. Education and health services is the largest disclosed private supersector, not a description of the whole economy. The reported migration balance is an outflow of 10 households, although arriving movers’ average AGI exceeded departing movers’ by the supplied $5,935 calculation. That composition is not proof of tenant demand. Investor-linked purchase mortgages were 7.69% of 91 purchases, showing some nonoccupant participation but not the depth of all-cash or owner-occupant competition.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled climate-loss ratio is 0.09% of building value annually. That is a modeled value share, not a dollar loss; parcel-level flood maps, insurance terms, elevation, and condition remain necessary checks. No Realtor.com listing figures are published, preventing an MLS read on asking prices, active supply, marketing time, or seller price-reduction concessions. Obtain lease comparables, property operating records, insurance pricing, and parcel-specific hazard review before making an income or risk conclusion.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Lunenburg County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Victoria town1.6KKenbridge town1.4KLunenburg CDP42
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

3 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Victoria townIncorporated place
    1,595
  2. 02
    Kenbridge townIncorporated place
    1,432
  3. 03
    Lunenburg CDPCensus-designated place
    42

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.091% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.39%

$578 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-10

249 in · 259 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$5,935

$44,522 arriving · $38,587 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors7.7%

7 of 91 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Achievable rent, vacancy, and operating costs may not support ownership economics despite the published home value.
  2. Parcel-specific flood exposure, insurance availability, or elevation may differ materially from the county-level modeled loss ratio.
  3. County workplace and migration evidence may not represent the tenant pool or buyer competition in a particular submarket.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from the supplied record?

No. Measured market rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot be used as market asking rent.

Does the FHFA HPI provide a county home value?

No. It is a repeat-transaction appreciation index and is separate from Zillow’s county median home value.

What buyer-competition evidence is provided?

The record provides investor participation among purchase mortgages, but it does not measure all-cash buyers or owner-occupant demand.