2,348 people (2024 Census estimate, +4.8% since 2020)
415 square miles of land · 6 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
2 active community water systems list Highland County in the area they serve, reporting 415 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MONTEREY, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · VA2091150 | 300 served |
| MCDOWELL groundwater · local government · VA2091100 | 115 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 6 people were held in Highland County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 532 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 9.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Highland County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $4.8 million — $4.6 million to run schools, about $23,185 per student, plus $180,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.3 million local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $371,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Highland County about $2.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
53 bridges in Highland County: 25 in good condition, 25 fair, and 3 poor (5.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| POTOMAC RIVER ROAD over E BRANCH STRAIT CREEK · built 1931 | 1,314 vehicles a day |
| BLUGRASS VALLEY RD over S BR POTOMAC RIVER · built 1950 | 244 vehicles a day |
| BIG VALLEY ROAD over DRY BRANCH · built 1926 | 64 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $4.1 million of work in Highland County in fiscal 2025, about $1,847 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Early voting: 2026-09-18 to 2026-10-31. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-23. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-23. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Virginia Department of Elections: upcoming elections · Virginia Department of Elections: voter FAQ · Virginia Department of Elections: absentee voting
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Highland County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Highland County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Virginia: the state government and every county in Virginia.
Nearby counties: Bath County (22 mi) · Pocahontas County, WV (24 mi) · Pendleton County, WV (24 mi) · Augusta County (27 mi) · Staunton city (31 mi) · Randolph County, WV (33 mi).