Visitor economy
Montgomery County
County · Southwest Virginia - Blue Ridge Highlands. Visitors spent $297M here in 2025, up 1.0% on 2024 and up 33.5% on 2019.
$297M
Visitor spending, 2025
21 of 133 localities
3,022
Jobs supported
19 of 133
$18M
Local taxes from visitors
18 of 133
$153M
Wages paid
$11M in state taxes
Ten years of visitor spending
Where the money went in 2025
Food and drink is the largest single category here at $117M, 39.5% of everything visitors spent.
- Lodging
- $73M24.5%
- Food and drink
- $117M39.5%
- Retail
- $34M11.5%
- Recreation
- $39M13.2%
- Transport
- $34M11.4%
Lodging includes short-term rentals and second-home spending. Transport covers both ground and air.
Year by year
| Year | Total | Change | Lodging | Food | Retail | Recreation | Transport | Jobs | Local tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $297M | +1.0% | $73M | $117M | $34M | $39M | $34M | 3,022 | $18M |
| 2024 | $294M | +5.1% | $74M | $113M | $33M | $40M | $33M | 3,044 | $18M |
| 2023 | $280M | +5379.0% | $70M | $106M | $32M | $40M | $31M | 2,985 | $17M |
| 2022 | $276M | +16.1% | $69M | $105M | $32M | $39M | $32M | 2,892 | $17M |
| 2021 | $238M | +62.9% | $60M | $88M | $29M | $32M | $29M | 2,451 | $13M |
| 2020 | $146M | -34.3% | $33M | $55M | $19M | $19M | $20M | 2,076 | $10M |
| 2019 | $222M | +5.9% | $55M | $85M | $27M | $26M | $28M | 2,781 | $15M |
| 2018 | $210M | +8.5% | $52M | $79M | $27M | $24M | $27M | 2,689 | $14M |
| 2017 | $193M | +3.7% | $47M | $74M | $25M | $22M | $25M | 2,651 | $13M |
| 2016 | $186M | — | $45M | $72M | $24M | $21M | $24M | 2,620 | $13M |
How that compares
- 0.82% of all visitor spending in Virginia, which totalled $36.20B in 2025.
- 25.3% of the Southwest Virginia - Blue Ridge Highlands region, which took $1.17B.
- Ranks 21 of 133 Virginia counties and independent cities by visitor spending, and 18 of 133 by the local taxes that spending returns.
- Statewide spending is +3.1% on 2024; Montgomery County is +1.0%.