Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta County is a county in Virginia, United States, in the Shenandoah Valley on the west
side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and
Waynesboro, which are separate jurisdictions and not part of the county. It had a population of
77,487 at the 2020 census, an estimated 78,940 by 2025, and covers 967 square miles (2,500 km2)
of land centred near 38°12′N 79°7′W.

Verona is the county seat, a title that moved there from Staunton in June 2026 after the
historic Staunton courthouse was ruled a hazardous building; its postal code is 24482. The
county holds 2 incorporated towns and roughly 20 smaller communities, and it runs on Eastern
Time. Its FIPS code is 51015.

Towns & Villages in Augusta County

Augusta County has 22 named places on record: 2 incorporated towns and 20 unincorporated
communities, most of them recognized by the Census Bureau as census-designated places (CDPs).
CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers hamlets and crossroads with no formal
Census Bureau boundary.

Grottoes sits mostly in neighboring Rockingham County; only a sliver of the town, mainly a
handful of residential and commercial lots on its southern edge, crosses into Augusta, so its
population is counted with Rockingham rather than here. Sherando and Lyndhurst share ZIP 22952,
the Waynesboro-area code, since both lie just north of that city’s limits.

ZIP Codes

• 24482 — Verona, the county seat
• 24477 — Stuarts Draft
• 22939 — Fishersville
• 24486 — Weyers Cave
• 24441 — Grottoes
• 24431 — Crimora
• 22952 — Lyndhurst and Sherando
• 24430 — Craigsville
• 24440 — Greenville
• 24467 — Mount Sidney
• 24459 — Middlebrook
• 24479 — Swoope
• 22843 — Mount Solon
• 24437 — Fort Defiance
• 24485 — West Augusta

Dooms, Churchville, Deerfield, New Hope, Steeles Tavern and Harriston have no ZIP code of
their own; mail there is delivered under a neighboring town’s code.

Geography

Augusta County lies in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, bounded on the east by the Blue
Ridge Mountains and on the west by the Alleghenies, with rolling farmland filling the valley
floor between them. Of its 971 square miles of total area, 967 are land and 3.9 are water, about
0.4 percent — the county has no large natural lake, and its water is almost all river.
The Middle River runs entirely within the county and joins the North River, which then meets the
South River at Port Republic, just over the line in Rockingham County, to form the South Fork
Shenandoah River.

Pendleton County, West Virginia, borders Augusta to the north. Inside Virginia, Rockingham
County lies to the northeast, Albemarle County to the east, Nelson County to the southeast,
Rockbridge County to the southwest, Bath County to the west and Highland County to the
northwest. Rockingham
County, Albemarle County, Nelson County, Rockbridge County, Bath County and Highland County all border
Augusta directly. The independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro sit fully inside the
county’s boundary without being part of it.

Demographics

Augusta County had a population of 77,487 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 78,940 residents. Stuarts Draft and Fishersville are by far the two largest
communities, together holding roughly 28,000 people. Median household income runs about
$82,049, per recent Census Bureau data compiled by Data USA, close to Virginia’s own
statewide figure of $89,931 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to about 80 people per
square mile of land, low for a county this close to two small cities, reflecting how much of
Augusta stays in farmland and forest.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 6,402 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 5,557 and retail trade at 4,971. Augusta County Public Schools and
Augusta Health, the regional hospital system based near Fishersville, are among the county’s
largest employers, alongside Hershey and McKee Foods food-processing plants and a Target
distribution operation. Fishersville is also home to the Augusta Expoland fairgrounds and the
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. The county’s best-known annual event is the
Natural Chimneys jousting tournament near Mount Solon, held every third Saturday in August and
billed as the oldest continually held sporting event in the United States.

History

The Virginia colonial assembly formed Augusta County in 1738, carving it from Orange County;
it was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales and mother of the future King George
III. At its creation the county’s claimed territory stretched far to the west, eventually
giving rise to parts of present-day West Virginia and Kentucky as those areas were organized
into their own counties. During the Civil War, Augusta County’s farms supplied Confederate
forces operating in the Shenandoah Valley until Union troops occupied the region. Fort Defiance,
in the county’s north, takes its name from an 18th-century fortification built around the
Augusta Stone Church after a 1755 raid; the church still stands and is the oldest Presbyterian
church in continuous use in Virginia. In June 2026 the county moved its seat of government from
Staunton to Verona after Staunton’s historic courthouse was ruled a hazardous building.

Getting There

Interstate 81 runs the length of the county north to south, and Interstate 64 crosses it
east to west, meeting near Staunton at what locals call the crossroads of the Shenandoah Valley.
US routes 11, 250 and 340 also cross the county.

• Staunton — enclaved within the county, central
• Waynesboro — enclaved within the county, southeast
• Harrisonburg — north, along Interstate 81
• Charlottesville — east, across the Blue Ridge on Interstate 64

Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport, in Weyers Cave, offers scheduled passenger service under
the federal Essential Air Service program, currently flown by American Eagle to Charlotte and
Chicago O’Hare. Amtrak’s Cardinal, running between New York and Chicago, stops at the
Staunton station on Middlebrook Avenue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Augusta County located?
It sits in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, wrapped around the independent cities of Staunton
and Waynesboro, and bordered by Rockingham, Albemarle, Nelson, Rockbridge, Bath and Highland
counties plus Pendleton County, West Virginia.

What is the population of Augusta County?
77,487 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 78,940.

How big is Augusta County?
971 square miles in total, of which 967 square miles are land and 3.9 square miles are water.

What is the county seat of Augusta County?
Verona, which became the seat in June 2026 after Staunton’s historic courthouse was ruled
hazardous. Staunton is an independent city and not legally part of the county.

How many towns are in Augusta County?
Two incorporated towns, Craigsville and a small part of Grottoes, plus about 20 unincorporated
communities including Stuarts Draft, Fishersville, Verona and Weyers Cave.

What ZIP codes does Augusta County use?
24482 for Verona, 24477 for Stuarts Draft, 22939 for Fishersville, 24486 for Weyers Cave, and
smaller codes for Craigsville, Crimora, Greenville, Mount Sidney and other communities.

What is Augusta County known for?
Natural Chimneys Regional Park and its annual jousting tournament, the oldest continually held
sporting event in the country, plus the historic Augusta Stone Church at Fort Defiance.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Virginia.