Amherst is a very small town located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 2,126 people and three associated neighborhoods, Amherst is the 214th largest community in Virginia.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Amherst has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Amherst 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: 8.24% 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.

It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Amherst has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Amherst has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Amherst than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Amherst may be for you.

As is often the case in a small town, Amherst doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

The overall education level of Amherst is somewhat higher than in the average US city of 21.84%: 25.13% of adults 25 and older in the town have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Amherst in 2018 was $32,241, which is middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $128,964 for a family of four. However, Amherst contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Amherst is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Amherst home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Amherst residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Amherst include English, Irish, German, European, and French.

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