Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Virginia ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

–Cave SpringNot graded DRoanokeSafer than 6% of U.S. towns

Schools

ACave SpringBetter than 92% of districts in the state DRoanokeBetter than 11% of districts in the state

Health

A−Cave SpringHealthier than 81% of U.S. towns C−RoanokeHealthier than 19% of U.S. towns

13Cave Spring

7Roanoke

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 249 towns #58#243 Best schoolsSchools · 219 towns #15#162 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 255 towns #34#189 Most trailsOutdoors · 216 towns #203#72 Most activeHealth · 255 towns #94#220 HealthiestHealth · 254 towns #104#223 Lowest obesityHealth · 255 towns #114#233 Most conserved landOutdoors · 243 towns #194#84

Left end = #1 in Virginia. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Cave Spring’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $230 more a month in Cave Spring

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Cave Spring$1,930/mo

Typical home $326K (Census) · tax rate 0.81% · or rent about $1,285/mo · Housing →

Roanoke$1,700/mo

Typical home $279K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.99% · or rent about $996/mo · Housing →

The difference: $230 a month, about $2,800 a year, between Cave Spring and Roanoke.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Cave Spring and Roanoke share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Cave SpringRoanoke

Cave Spring ↔ Roanoke4.5 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

4,396 Cave Spring residents work in Roanoke (35.8% of its workers)

1,982 Roanoke residents work in Cave Spring (5% of its workers)

Work & commute in Cave Spring →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Cave SpringRoanoke

Snow a year18″15″

January low—29°F

July high—88°F

Growing season (days)—210d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)13th 27th

Outdoors & history

Cave SpringRoanoke

Trails3 mi 54 mi

Conserved land1.4%7.6%

Settled—1852

National Register places1 65

Archive photos—11

Community

Cave SpringRoanoke

Library hours a week54 hrs 52 hrs

Colleges in town—1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Virginia average

Cave SpringRoanoke

People

Population 25,742Lowest 98,355Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +7.4%Highest VA: +7.9% +3.1%Lowest VA: +7.9%

Median age 42.4±1.7Highest 9% above VA 38.3±0.5Lowest about the VA average

Kids under 18 19.5%±1.9Lowest VA: 21.7% 22.6%±0.8Highest VA: 21.7%

Age 65+ 18.8%±1.7Highest VA: 16.7% 17.8%±0.8Lowest VA: 16.7%

Cave Spring and Roanoke are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 48.8%Highest VA: 42.2% 30%Lowest VA: 42.2%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.5%±1.2Highest VA: 6.9% 4.1%±0.6Lowest VA: 6.9%

Cave Spring and Roanoke are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $87,539±$6kHighest 6% below VA $55,378±$2kLowest 41% below VA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $325,800±$12kHighest 15% below VA $190,500±$7kLowest 50% below VA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,285±$67Highest 19% below VA $996±$30Lowest 37% below VA

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,646Highest 5% below VA $1,893Lowest 32% below VA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 38.6%±7.3Lowest VA: 48.5% 45.3%±3.4Highest VA: 48.5%

Roanoke and Cave Spring are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 5.9%Lowest VA: 9.9% 18.3%Highest VA: 9.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 69.5%Highest VA: 67.3% 52.4%Lowest VA: 67.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1977Highest 7 yrs older than VA 1958Lowest 26 yrs older than VA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minHighest 27% below VA 19 minLowest 30% below VA

Work from home 17.8%±3.8Highest VA: 18.3% 11.8%±1.5Lowest VA: 18.3%

Work in townworking residents 10.4%Lowest 43.3%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 5.8 miHighest 4.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.85Lowest 1.63Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Roanoke (36%)Salem (9%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 36% work in Roanoke5% work in Cave Spring

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.4%Lowest 7.6%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 3.1 miLowest 53.6 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 1.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 47Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 64.5Lowest 81.8Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #15 of 219 in VA #162 of 219 in VA

School district Roanoke County Public SchoolsReg Alternative Plus Self Project/Roanoke City · Roanoke Valley Governor's School

High school in town Cave Spring HighPatrick Henry High

Students per teacherat that high school 15.6Highest 13.9Lowest

Virginia average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Cave Spring neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 4d

Cave Spring School Memories

1 neighbor in Cave Spring can answer.

Roanoke neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Roanoke’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Cave Spring and Roanoke

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Cave Spring

+ Compare

Salem25,618 people · $259K homes

Towns like Cave Spring

+ Compare

Christiansburg22,720 people · $253K homes

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Staunton25,948 people · $259K homes

+ Compare

Herndon24,672 people · $599K homes

+ Compare

Leesburg49,171 people · $668K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Cave Spring vs Roanoke

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Cave Spring places higher on 13 of 21 VA lists

A typical home costs $230 more a month in Cave Spring

Cave Spring and Roanoke share a border

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Cave Spring School Memories

Set another town beside Cave Spring and Roanoke

Bordering Cave Spring

Towns like Cave Spring

Post to Cave Spring

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