Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, as well as the surrounding county, is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University).Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and the city of Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses those jurisdictions and all of Montgomery, Pulaski, and Giles counties for statistical purposes. The MSA has an estimated population of 181,863 and is currently one of the faster-growing MSAs in Virginia.
In 2011, BusinessWeek named Blacksburg as the "Best Place in the U.S. to Raise Kids". Also in 2011, readers of Southern Living named Blacksburg the "Best College Town in the South". Its public transportation system, Blacksburg Transit, which also connects to the neighboring town of Christiansburg, has repeatedly been recognized for the quality of its service. Blacksburg High School, which in 2013 opened a new building, is often ranked among the top schools of the nation for its academics. Its soccer, track, and cross-country teams are also among the top in the state.
Blacksburg was the scene of the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007, when 32 people were killed and 17 wounded by a lone gunman. At the time, it was the deadliest shooting carried out by a single gunman in U.S. history, and generated considerable media coverage and discussion.
