| | Altavista, VA | Waynesville, NC | United States |
| Population | 3,396 | 10,087 | 329,725,481 |
| Female Population | 52.9% | 52.5% | 50.5% |
| Male Population | 47.1% | 47.6% | 49.5% |
| Median Age | 41.8 | 47.6 | 38.4 |
| space3 | | | |
| Population - 2010 | 3,456 | 9,840 | 309,327,143 |
| Population - 2000 | 3,425 | 9,232 | 285,036,114 |
| Population - 1990 | 3,686 | 6,758 | 251,960,433 |
| Pop. 2000 to Now | -0.1% | 14.4% | 15.6% |
| Pop. 1990 to Now | -7.2% | 56.2% | 30.8% |
| space4 | | | |
| Population Density | 673.0 | 1,142.5 | 93.4 |
| Land Area | 5.0 | 8.8 | 3,531,905.4 |
| Water Area | 0.1 | 0.0 | 264,836.8 |
| space | | | |
| Est. Total Population By Age | | | |
| | Altavista, VA | Waynesville, NC | United States |
| Age 0 to 4 | 8.1% | 4.9% | 5.9% |
| Age 5 to 9 | 5.4% | 8.1% | 6.1% |
| Age 10 to 14 | 3.9% | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| Age 15 to 17 | 4.6% | 1.7% | 3.9% |
| Age 18 to 20 | 5.5% | 1.8% | 4.0% |
| Age 21 to 24 | 1.2% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Age 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 11.3% | 13.8% |
| Age 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 10.7% | 12.9% |
| Age 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 12.5% | 12.6% |
| Age 55 to 59 | 6.9% | 7.6% | 6.7% |
| Age 60 to 64 | 4.4% | 7.0% | 6.3% |
| Age 65 to 74 | 11.7% | 13.1% | 9.6% |
| Age 75 to 84 | 4.7% | 7.3% | 4.5% |
| Age 85 and over | 4.4% | 4.7% | 1.9% |
| space1 | | | |
| Race | | | |
| | Altavista, VA | Waynesville, NC | United States |
| White | 62.4% | 93.3% | 59.4% |
| Black | 36.8% | 1.5% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 0.3% | 0.1% | 5.6% |
| Native American | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.6% |
| Hawaiian, Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Other | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| Two or More Races | 0.5% | 1.7% | 3.2% |
| Hispanic | 0.0% | 3.0% | 18.4% |
| space2 | | | |
| Marriage & Family | | | |
| | Altavista, VA | Waynesville, NC | United States |
| Married Population | 40.3% | 49.6% | 49.8% |
| Currently Married | 37.6% | 48.1% | 48.0% |
| Married but Separated | 2.7% | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| Single Population | 59.7% | 50.4% | 50.2% |
| Never Married | 34.6% | 25.7% | 33.8% |
| Divorced | 15.3% | 14.6% | 10.8% |
| Widowed | 9.8% | 10.1% | 5.6% |
| space5 | | | |
| Household Size | 2.48 | 2.11 | 2.60 |
| Households | 1,338 | 4,684 | 124,010,992 |
| Family Households | 839 | 2,697 | 80,755,759 |
| Married couple, w/children | 23.7% | 23.3% | 30.5% |
| Married couple, no children | 29.8% | 49.6% | 42.9% |
| Non Family Households | 499 | 1,987 | 43,255,233 |
| Single householder, w/children | 26.7% | 14.7% | 15.8% |
| Single householder, no children | 19.8% | 12.3% | 10.8% |