Ferrum is a very small town located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 1,827 people and two associated neighborhoods, Ferrum is the 227th largest community in Virginia. Ferrum has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Ferrum, where the median household income is $40,435.00.Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Ferrum is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Ferrum is a town of sales and office workers, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Ferrum who work in sales jobs (20.59%), teaching (9.52%), and food service (8.49%). Of important note, Ferrum is also a town of artists. Ferrum has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Ferrum’s character. Also of interest is that Ferrum has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 23.13% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Ferrum is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Ferrum to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy. The overall education level of Ferrum citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 29.15% of adults in Ferrum have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%. The per capita income in Ferrum in 2022 was $17,108, which is low income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $68,432 for a family of four. However, Ferrum contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Ferrum also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 37.13% of its population below the federal poverty line.Ferrum is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Ferrum home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ferrum residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Ferrum include English, Irish, German, Polish, and European. The most common language spoken in Ferrum is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
