Welcome to Wise ...
The town of Wise is located in Wise County<1> and is the County Seat for Wise County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Wise, you might consider that their post office opened in 1870.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Wise has a population of 2,905 people<2> (see below for details).
Wise is 2,450 feet [747 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude of Wise is about ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Wise lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Wise: (276)
The ZIP code for Wise: 24293<4>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Wise had an population of 2,905 people. This is a decrease of 11.59% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 10.75% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Wise had a population of 3,286 people (which is 7.93% of the total population of Wise County). This makes Wise the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Wise represents 0.04% of the population of Virginia (which has 8,001,024 people), making it the state's 79th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 3,286 people, the population of Wise has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 3,255 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Wise.
Communities Also Named Wise ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 18 communities that are also named Wise - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas (2), California, Georgia (2), Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina (2), Texas (2) and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wise.
Communities near Wise ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Wise.
- Big Stone Gap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Stone Gap
- Big Stone Gap is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,104 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Stone Gap <5>
- Norton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Norton is located in Norton City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,985 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <5>
- Jenkins
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
- Jenkins is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,895 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jenkins <5>
- Coeburn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coeburn
- Coeburn is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,835 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coeburn <5>
- Whitesburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Whitesburg is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,813 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesburg <5>
- Appalachia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachia
- Appalachia is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,523 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Appalachia <5>
- Clintwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintwood
- Clintwood is located in Dickenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,264 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clintwood <5>
- Pound
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pound
- Pound is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pound <5>
- Saint Paul
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Paul have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Saint Paul is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 847 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Paul <5>
- Lynch
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch
- Lynch is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 630 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynch <5>
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 Wise. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Wise.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Wise. 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 Wise.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Wise. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Wise.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Wise ...
Looking for more information about Wise? 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 Wise, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Wise.
Adding Wise to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Wise 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 Wise was in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
We also found Wise in the book titled .<7> From that list, the Wise post office opened in 1893.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Wise.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wise. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Wise County: www.wisecounty.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Wise, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Wise. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Wise - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Wise). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Wise or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |