Montgomery County, Virginia


Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 94,392. Its county seat is Christiansburg.
Montgomery County is part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is dominated economically by the presence of Virginia Tech, Virginia's second largest public university, which is the county's largest employer.

Board of Supervisors

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors sets the annual budget and tax rates, enacts legislation governing the County and its citizens, sets policies and oversees their implementation. There are seven supervisors; one is elected from each of the seven geographic districts. Terms are four years; three or four seats are up for re-election each odd year.
SupervisorDistrict
' Sara BohnA
Chris TuckB
' Steve FijalkowskiC
Todd KingD
Darrell SheppardE
Mary BiggsF
April DeMottsG

History

Montgomery County was established on December 31, 1776, made from parts of Fincastle County, which was disbanded at this time and split into Montgomery, Washington, and Kentucky counties. Later, Montgomery lost land to form counties which now border it, including some counties which later formed West Virginia.
The county is named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The western part of the county is in the New River watershed.

Adjacent counties and city

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 94,392 people living in the county. 87.6% were White, 5.4% Asian, 3.9% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% of some other race and 2.1% of two or more races. 2.7% were Hispanic or Latino.
As of the census of 2000, there were 83,629 people, 30,997 households, and 17,203 families living in the county. The population density was 215 people per square mile. There were 32,527 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 90.00% White, 3.65% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 3.97% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 30,997 households out of which 25.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.80% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.50% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the county, the population was spread out with 17.10% under the age of 18, 31.30% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 17.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,330, and the median income for a family was $47,239. Males had a median income of $33,674 versus $23,555 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,077. About 8.80% of families and 23.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Despite being in the Solid South, Montgomery County did not consistently back Democratic candidates in the early 20th century, being a swing county from 1912 to 1940. From 1944 to 1988, the county was consistently Republican, though the presence of a major university in Virginia Tech helped make the county more competitive to the Democratic Party towards the end of that streak. It has since become a bellwether county, backing the national winner in every election from 1980 to 2008. In the two presidential elections since then, the county has backed the losing candidate, by very narrow margins of 103 votes in 2012 & 562 votes in 2016.

Education

Colleges and universities

Towns