34,973 people (2024 Census estimate, −3.0% since 2020)
403 square miles of land · 87 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.
8 active community water systems list Wise County in the area they serve, reporting 39,076 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WISE COUNTY REGIONAL WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · VA1195900 | 11,500 served |
| BIG STONE GAP, TOWN OF surface water · local government · VA1195100 | 9,372 served |
| WISE, TOWN OF surface water · local government · VA1195950 | 6,375 served |
| COEBURN, TOWN OF surface water · local government · VA1195170 | 4,630 served |
| APPALACHIA, TOWN OF surface water · local government · VA1195050 | 2,745 served |
| WCPSA-POUND surface water · local government · VA1195650 | 2,501 served |
| ST PAUL, TOWN OF surface water · local government · VA1195700 | 1,010 served |
| BOLD CAMP buys surface water · local government · VA1195640 | 943 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 241 people were held in Wise County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 1,068 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 315.
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 Wise County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $97.4 million — $82.6 million to run schools, about $13,973 per student, plus $10.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $21.3 million local (mostly property tax), $52.8 million state, $20.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $59.2 million.
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: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wise County about $13.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
165 bridges in Wise County: 38 in good condition, 122 fair, and 5 poor (3.0%). “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.
| BULL RUN ROAD over NS RAILWAY · built 1976 | 5,711 vehicles a day |
| WBL ROUTE 0058 over OLD RAILROAD BED · built 1974 | 2,855 vehicles a day |
| WEST NORTON ROAD over SBD SYSTEM RAILROAD · built 1910 | 394 vehicles a day |
| LITTLE LEAGUE RD. over TOMS CREEK · built 1974 | 320 vehicles a day |
| ROUTE 0605 over POWELL RIVER · built 1978 | 314 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $104.4 million of work in Wise County in fiscal 2025, about $2,890 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 Wise 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 Wise County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Virginia: the state government and every county in Virginia.
Nearby counties: Norton city (3 mi) · Letcher County, KY (17 mi) · Scott County (18 mi) · Dickenson County (19 mi) · Russell County (29 mi) · Knott County, KY (32 mi).