Moving to Lake of the Woods
Orange County gains about 13.4 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.
Where people come from and where they go, top counties
Within Virginia, other states or abroad
Income per tax return
People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Orange County; flows under 20 returns are not published.
- Who moves here
- 12.1% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 2.3% from another state.
- Who arrives and who leaves
- Households moving into Orange County report $72,400 a year in income on average; those leaving, $64,400, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
- Income you would need
- $70,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
- Rent or buy
- Median rent is $1,765 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,875 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $399,300.
- Getting to work
- 45 minutes each way on average; 18.7% work from home.
- If it is close but not quite
- Lake Norman of Catawba, NC matches it on character for less of your income. Compare the two
All 5 moving measures
| Measure | Lake of the Woods | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved here in the past year1 | 12.1% | 111% above | |
| Moved from another state1County figure | 2.3% | 18% above | |
| Net movers per 1,000 people5County figure | 13.4 | above (median -0.6) | |
| Income of households moving in5County figure | $72,433 | 3% above | |
| Income of households moving out5County figure | $64,383 | 8% below |
What it costs to live here
Rent is about 29% higher than we would expect for a place with these incomes, education levels, housing age and household types in Virginia. The premium usually reflects location, amenities or schools that these figures do not capture.
Could you afford it?
Uses the median rent in Lake of the Woods, $1,765 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Like Lake of the Woods, but easier on the budget
Places that match Lake of the Woods on character (size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, remote work and climate) but where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income. Cost was left out of the match on purpose.
| Place | Match | Rent to income | More left a year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Norman of Catawba, NC | 95 | 14.0% vs 19.4% | n/a | Compare |
| Maryville, IL | 93 | 13.6% vs 19.4% | n/a | Compare |
| Clarkston Heights-Vineland, WA | 93 | 13.3% vs 19.4% | n/a | Compare |
| Lake Fenton, MI | 91 | 16.0% vs 19.4% | n/a | Compare |
Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Lake of the Woods.
All 14 cost and housing measures
| Measure | Lake of the Woods | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent1 | $1,765 | 29% above | |
| Rent to income1 | 19.4% | 5% below | |
| Property tax rate1 | 0.6% | 36% below | |
| Home price to income1 | 3.7x | 4% below | |
| Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure | $1,262 | 22% below | |
| Property tax paid (median)1 | $2,310 | 29% below | |
| Median home value1 | $399,300 | 25% above | |
| Home prices, 1-year change3County figure | 4.7% | 48% above | |
| Home prices, 5-year change3County figure | 51.2% | 1% below | |
| Homeownership1 | 95.7% | 44% above | |
| Renters paying 30%+1County figure | 39.4% | 22% below | |
| Owner costs with a mortgage1 | $1,875 | 0% above | |
| Vacant homes1 | 10.1% | 43% above | |
| Median year built1 | 1995 | 1% above |
Work and pay
Mean commute is 45 min, 79% above the median place.
All 9 work and pay measures
| Measure | Lake of the Woods | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income1 | $109,153 | 36% above | |
| Income per person1 | $56,443 | 41% above | |
| Unemployment1County figure | 3.4% | 31% below | |
| Average annual pay4County figure | $51,533 | 22% below | |
| Pay growth, 1 year4County figure | 4.8% | 30% above | |
| Jobs4County figure | 9,409 | 94% below | |
| Poverty rate1 | 5.5% | 48% below | |
| Mean commute1 | 45 min | 79% above | |
| Works from home1 | 18.7% | 50% above |
Who lives here
The median resident is 52.8 years old, older than in 95% of the 2,479 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 195 Virginia places we track.
More about who lives here, against the typical place
All 8 people measures
Life in Lake of the Woods
The nearest National Park Service site is Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, about 16 miles away.
35 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks. Its history on Wikipedia
Out the door, against the typical place
Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
National Park Service sites nearby
- Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park 16 miles
- Prince William Forest Park 27 miles
- Shenandoah National Park 35 miles
Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)
Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.
All 18 schools and local life measures
| Measure | Lake of the Woods | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public schools10County figure | 9 | 0% above | |
| Public school students10County figure | 5,074 | 4% above | |
| Students per teacher10County figure | 15.5 | 1% above | |
| Restaurants and bars per 10k6County figure | 18.5 | 11% below | |
| Shops per 10k6County figure | 31.7 | 5% above | |
| Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k6County figure | 3.7 | 10% below | |
| Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k6County figure | 8.7 | 57% below | |
| Child care centers per 10k6County figure | 1.1 | 52% below | |
| Parks per 10k7 | 15.0 | 48% above | |
| Playgrounds per 10k7 | 5.0 | 47% below | |
| Grocery stores per 10k7 | 0.0 | below (median 2.1) | |
| Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k7 | 12.5 | 12% above | |
| Libraries per 10k7 | 2.5 | 189% above | |
| Named paths and bike trails7 | 4.7 | 135% above | |
| Transit stops per sq mi7 | 0.0 | below (median 0.2) | |
| Nearest National Park Service site8 | 16.0 | 48% below | |
| National Park Service sites within 60 miles8 | 40 | above (median 2) | |
| National Register listings9County figure | 35 | 169% above |
Safety, weather and risk
Natural hazard risk is 25.6, 72% below the median place.
No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Lake of the Woods. Larger places are fetched first.
All 9 weather and risk measures
| Measure | Lake of the Woods | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| July average high11County figure | 88°F | 1% above | |
| January average low11County figure | 25°F | 0% below | |
| Average temperature11County figure | 56°F | 2% above | |
| Annual precipitation11County figure | 44.2 in | 1% above | |
| Natural hazard risk12County figure | 25.6 | 72% below | |
| Hurricane risk12County figure | 76.9 | 9% above | |
| Tornado risk12County figure | 25.4 | 69% below | |
| Wildfire risk12County figure | 30.6 | 50% below | |
| Heat wave risk12County figure | 42.7 | 53% below |
How it is changing
Rent took 20.8% of the median income in the 2019 survey and 19.4% in 2024. In the 25 places most like it the share rose 1.8 points on average, so affordability held up better here.
Five-year survey estimates, one point per release. Between the 2019 and 2024 releases, which share no survey years, the median rent went from 20.8% to 19.4% of the median income.
Median gross rent
Median household income
Median home value
Citytistics measures
Measures only Citytistics publishes, built from the figures on this page. Scores of 100 beat every place we track. Formulas
Lake of the Woods in 2030: where the trends point
If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 19% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 19% now.
Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases. On projected 2030 affordability, Lake of the Woods does better than 57% of places. Its projected home value growth beats 61%.
| Measure | Latest | 2030 projection | Likely range | Avg. per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,765/mo (2024) | $2,260/mo | $1,850 to $2,750/mo | +4.2% |
| Median household income | $109,153 (2024) | $140,000 | $118,500 to $165,500 | +4.2% |
| Median home value | $399,300 (2024) | $577,000 | $419,000 to $795,000 | +6.3% |
The median home would be worth 4.1 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.7 now.
A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.
Places like Lake of the Woods
The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.
| Place | Rent | Income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulverde, TX | $1,794 | $112,188 | Compare |
| Westchester, IL | $1,794 | $98,954 | Compare |
| Whiskey Creek, FL | $1,814 | $104,476 | Compare |
| Oak Hill, ME | $1,743 | $97,610 | Compare |
Nearby
- Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA13 mi
- Fredericksburg, VA15 mi
- Falmouth, VA16 mi
- Culpeper, VA16 mi
- Bealeton, VA17 mi
- Orange, VA20 mi
Compare Lake of the Woods with
Places built like Lake of the Woods
Its statistical peers: the closest matches on size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, origin and remote work, in the same part of the country. Cost and outcomes are left out of the match, so the table shows how Lake of the Woods performs against places like it.
| Place | Rent to income | Income growth | Pop. change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake of the Woods, VA | 19.4% | 6.3%/yr | n/a | |
| Lake Norman of Catawba, NC | 14.0% | 8.1%/yr | n/a | Compare |
| Carolina Beach, NC | 19.2% | 4.7%/yr | 4.5% | Compare |
| North Merritt Island, FL | 14.6% | 3.9%/yr | n/a | Compare |
| Lochmoor Waterway Estates, FL | 24.7% | 9.6%/yr | n/a | Compare |
| Hollywood, SC | 26.5% | 6.9%/yr | 6.9% | Compare |
| Islamorada, Village of Islands, FL | 25.9% | 1.1%/yr | -2.4% | Compare |
Common questions
Is Lake of the Woods a good place to live?
It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Its Citytistics Index is 66 out of 100, better than 66% of the places we rate and 94th of 190 in Virginia. Owning with a mortgage costs only about $110 a month more than the median rent, a smaller gap than in 89% of the 2,469 places under 10,000 people we track. On cost, space and class size it scores 78 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.
Is Lake of the Woods expensive to live in?
The median rent takes 19.4% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $399,300.
What salary do you need to live in Lake of the Woods?
To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $70,600 a year. Work it out from your current city.
What places are similar to Lake of the Woods?
On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Bulverde, TX, Westchester, IL, Whiskey Creek, FL and Oak Hill, ME.
Sources and methods
The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
- Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
- House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
- SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
- County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
- OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
- National Park Service sites · Wikidata (CC0), units operated by the National Park Service · Retrieved 2026-11
- National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
- Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
- 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
- National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).
What stands out compares Lake of the Woods with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Lake of the Woods itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/lake-of-the-woods-virginia
Citytistics. “Lake of the Woods, Virginia.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/lake-of-the-woods-virginia/
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.