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 a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 9.81% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.

Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 17.46 minutes getting to work every day.

The population of Ferrum overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Ferrum, 24.59% have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Ferrum in 2022 was $13,150, which is low income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $52,600 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 37.86% of its population below the federal poverty line.

Ferrum is an extremely 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, Scottish, German, Welsh, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Ferrum is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.