Southern Appalachian Vitality Index

Housing Unit Density, Number per Square Mile, 2013

Housing unit density can be used to help understand the demographic, cultural, or natural aspects of the region—for instance, to examine whether a particular area is urban or rural, to determine the prevalence of a particular housing type, or to view an area’s terrain or natural landscape.

Highland County, Virginia, had the lowest housing density of the Southern Appalachian region in 2013, with approximately 4.4 houses per square mile. This could be related to local economic conditions, demographic variables, or the available land needed to support housing infrastructure.

Greenville County, South Carolina, had one of the region's highest housing densities in the same time period, at 247 houses per square mile. The county is also home to Greenville, one of the region's largest cities, and is located at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the Piedmont ecoregion. Greenville County's geography may allow more flat land for housing development than can be found in other Southern Appalachian communities constrained by steeper elevations.