RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> RoanokeIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Virginia


The Commemorative Quarter for Virginia







Welcome to Roanoke ...



While we don't have a date for the founding of Roanoke, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.

When the people of Roanoke refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Roanoker<1>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Roanoke has a population of 99,216 people<2> (see below for details).

The city of Roanoke is 930 feet [283 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Roanoke lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

The area code for Roanoke: (540)

Websites for Roanoke ...

Official Website:   www.roanokeva.gov/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.roanokechamber.org/

Junior League:   www.jlrv.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Roanoke had an population of 99,216 people. This is an increase of 2.25% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 4.54% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Roanoke had a population of 97,032 people.

The population of Roanoke represents 1.21% of the population of Virginia (which has 8,001,024 people), making it the state's 9th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 97,032 people, the population of Roanoke increased 2.23% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 94,911 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Roanoke.

Communities Also Named Roanoke ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 20 communities that are also named Roanoke - they are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia (2), Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Roanoke.

Communities near Roanoke ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Roanoke.

  • Salem
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Salem is located in Salem City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,340 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <5>
  • Rocky Mount
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Troutville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Fincastle
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Boones Mill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • New Castle
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Cave Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
    • Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
  • Hollins
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollins have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
    • Hollins is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollins <5>
  • Sunset Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Sunset Village is located in Salem City
  • Apple Tree Village
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
    • Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Roanoke. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Roanoke.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Roanoke. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Roanoke.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Roanoke. Our list includes 38 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Roanoke.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Roanoke ...

Looking for more information about Roanoke? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Roanoke, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Roanoke.

Adding Roanoke to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Roanoke in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Roanoke was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Roanoke.

The official website for Roanoke: www.roanokeva.gov/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Roanoke refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Roanoke may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Roanoke.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Roanoke - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.









 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024