Roanoke County, Virginia

Roanoke County is a located in the  of the. As of the, the population was 85,778. The 2005 census estimate placed the population at 88,172. Given current trends, the population of Roanoke County may exceed the city of Roanoke around 2010. The of  and  (incorporated as such in 1884 and 1968 respectively) are located within the boundaries of Roanoke County, but are not a part of the county. The incorporated town of is the only incorporated municipality with the county. While significant areas of the county are rural and mountainous, most residents live in near Roanoke and Salem in the.

History
The county was formed in 1838 from the southern part of. It was named for the. Additional territory was transferred to Roanoke County from 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. Though the County Administrative Offices are in the Cave Spring District, the County Courthouse is still located in Salem. Thus, Salem is still the County Seat for Roanoke County. While this point could be argued, it is incorrect to list Cave Spring as the County Seat.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 650 (251 ). 650 km² (251 mi²) of it is land and 0 km² (0 mi²) of it (0.07%) is water.

Districts
The county is divided into five Supervisory Districts: Catawba,, , , and Windsor Hills. Vinton is an incorporated town with an elected town council, but is administratively a part of the County. Salem is an independent city and is no longer administratively part of the County.

There are five high schools located in Roanoke County. They are, , , , and. Famous people from Roanoke County include, , and , all Cave Spring graduates. , a member of the, is located in Northern Roanoke County, near the border.

Adjacent Counties

 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south-southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 85,778 people, 34,686 households, and 24,696 families residing in the county. The was 132/km² (342/mi²). There were 36,121 housing units at an average density of 56/km² (144/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.63%, 3.35% or , 0.12% , 1.61% , 0.02% , 0.39% from , and 0.89% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 34,686 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 27.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,689, and the median income for a family was $56,450. Males had a median income of $39,126 versus $26,690 for females. The for the county was $24,637. About 2.70% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the, including 5.20% of those under age 18 and 4.90% of those age 65 or over.