Roanoke County, Virginia

Roanoke County (/ˈroʊ.əˌnoʊk/ ROH-ə-nohk) is a county in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the census-designated place of Cave Spring.

Roanoke County is part of the Roanoke, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is in the Roanoke Region of Virginia.

The independent cities of Roanoke and Salem (incorporated as such in 1884 and 1968 respectively) are inside the boundaries of Roanoke County but are not a part of the county. The town of Vinton is the only municipality in the county. While significant areas of the county are rural and mountainous, most residents live in the suburbs near Roanoke and Salem in the Roanoke Valley.

The county was established by an act of the Virginia Legislature on March 30, 1838, from the southern part of Botetourt County. It was named for the Roanoke River, which in turn was derived from a Native American term for money. Additional territory was transferred to Roanoke County from Montgomery County in 1845. Salem was originally the county seat. When Salem became an independent city, by agreement with the county the Roanoke County Courthouse remained in Salem and the two localities share a jail. However, the county administrative offices were moved to the Cave Spring District.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 251.3 square miles (650.9 km²), of which 250.6 square miles (649.1 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (0.3%) is water.

The county is governed by a Board of Supervisors with one representative elected from each of the five magisterial districts: Catawba, Cave Spring, Hollins, Vinton, and Windsor Hills. Vinton is an incorporated town with an elected town council and town manager.

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

As of the census of 2000, there were 85,778 people, 34,686 households, and 24,696 families residing in the county. The population density was 342 people per square mile (132 people/km²). There were 36,121 housing units at an average density of 144 units per square mile (56 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.63% White, 3.35% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.