Craig County is a county in Virginia, United States, about 19 miles northwest of Roanoke. It had a population of 4,892 at the 2020 census, an estimated 4,800 by 2025, and covers 331 square miles (857 km2) centred near 37°30′N 80°7′W.
New Castle is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated town; its postal code is 24127. The county holds 1 town and 6 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 51045.
Towns & Villages in Craig County
Craig County has 7 named places on record: New Castle, the county’s only incorporated town, and 6 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural settlements with no formal boundary.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | Town · seat | 125 | 24127 |
| Paint Bank | Unincorp. | — | 24131 |
| Simmonsville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Marshalltown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maggie | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Captain | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Abbott | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 24127 — New Castle (the county’s only full-service post office town)
- 24131 — Paint Bank (serves the westernmost part of the county, near the West Virginia line)
Abbott, Captain, Maggie, Marshalltown and Simmonsville have no ZIP code of their own; mail to those communities is delivered under the New Castle or Paint Bank code, depending on location.
Geography
Craig County lies in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of western Virginia, a landscape of long parallel forested ridges separated by narrow farmed valleys. More than 112,000 acres of Jefferson National Forest cover the county, over half its total land area, running across Potts Mountain and Peters Mountain on the West Virginia line. Craig Creek drains the central valley past New Castle, and the Craig City, Craig Creek, New Castle, Potts Mountain and Simmonsville magisterial districts divide the county for local administration.
Alleghany County lies to the north, Botetourt County to the east, Roanoke County to the southeast, Montgomery County to the south, Giles County to the southwest, and Monroe County, West Virginia, to the west. Alleghany County, Botetourt County, Roanoke County, Montgomery County, Giles County and Monroe County all border Craig directly.
Demographics
Craig County had a population of 4,892 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 4,800 residents, a slight decline. New Castle, with 125 residents, is the only community in the county with its own census population count; the rest of the county’s residents live in unincorporated rural areas or in communities too small to be tracked separately. The county’s median age is 47.9, well above the statewide figure, and Census data puts the population at about 95 percent White and just over 1 percent Hispanic or Latino. Median household income runs $69,057, well below Virginia’s statewide figure of $89,931 (2023 ACS), and about 13.7 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Population density works out to roughly 15 people per square mile of land, among the lowest of any Virginia county and consistent with its status as one of the state’s least populated.
Economy & Local Life
Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 415 people, followed by health care and social assistance at 233 and educational services at 214. The highest-paying sectors are professional, scientific and technical services, transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing. The Paint Bank Fish Hatchery, run by the state game and inland fisheries agency, is one of the county’s notable institutions; it can hold up to 1.6 million trout at a time and stocks nine Virginia counties with fish raised to about 18 months old. Jefferson National Forest, covering more than half the county, drives a tourism and outdoor-recreation economy built around hunting, fishing and hiking, since the county has almost no manufacturing or retail base of its own outside these sectors.
History
The Virginia General Assembly formed Craig County in 1851 out of parts of Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles and Monroe counties, the last of which is now in West Virginia. The county was named for Robert Craig, a 19th-century Virginia congressman. New Castle’s courthouse, built in 1852, is one of the commonwealth’s surviving antebellum court complexes and still serves as the seat of county government.
Paint Bank, now a small unincorporated community, was once a mining and timber boomtown; its population topped 2,000 in the early 1900s when a rail depot, built in 1909, connected local iron-ore and timber operations to outside markets. The community’s historic general store, built from locally produced red brick, and Tingler’s Mill, a grist mill on Potts Creek dating to a 1780 land grant to Revolutionary War colonel William Preston, both survive from that era. Craig Healing Springs, a mineral-water resort near New Castle, drew visitors through the same period before the county’s population settled into the small, largely agricultural and forested community it remains today.
Getting There
No interstate highway crosses Craig County. State Routes 18, 42 and 311 carry most through traffic, meeting at Paint Bank in the county’s western end.
- Roanoke — about 19 miles southeast
- Covington — about 21 miles north
- Blacksburg — about 25 miles southwest
Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, roughly 25 miles southeast of New Castle, is the nearest commercial airport. Amtrak’s Northeast Regional serves the Roanoke station, which reopened in 2017, for connections toward Lynchburg and Washington, D.C.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Craig County located?
It sits in Virginia’s Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, about 19 miles northwest of Roanoke, bordered by Alleghany, Botetourt, Roanoke, Montgomery and Giles counties in Virginia and Monroe County, West Virginia.
What is the population of Craig County?
4,892 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 4,800, making it one of Virginia’s least populated counties.
How big is Craig County?
331 square miles (857 km2), more than half of it inside Jefferson National Forest.
What is the county seat of Craig County?
New Castle, whose 1852 courthouse still stands, is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated town.
How many towns are in Craig County?
Just one incorporated town, New Castle, plus six unincorporated communities: Paint Bank, Simmonsville, Marshalltown, Maggie, Captain and Abbott.
What ZIP codes does Craig County use?
24127 for New Castle and most of the county, and 24131 for Paint Bank in the west.
What is Craig County known for?
Jefferson National Forest, the Paint Bank Fish Hatchery, and Paint Bank’s early-1900s mining and timber boom, when its population briefly topped 2,000.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Virginia.