Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-09
8 of Virginia's 133 counties — 6% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 29th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Patrick County (80/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 1042 counties nationwide → Virginia: owner-builder → Virginia: rv living → Virginia: tiny homes → Virginia: no minimum home size → Full Virginia profile →
From the Virginia guide
Virginia has 8 counties listed without countywide zoning: Patrick County, Carroll County, Floyd County, Buchanan County, Dickenson County, Wythe County, Tazewell County, Franklin County.3 Every county in that list still requires residential building permits.3 The Virginia no-zoning county list is a starting point for comparing those locations.3
Another 125 localities are listed with zoning, and none is listed with both no residential building permit and no zoning.910 County zoning authority covers unincorporated territory; municipal zoning governs incorporated areas.15
No countywide zoning does not remove Virginia’s subdivision controls or statewide septic requirements.1911 Work normally exempt from a building permit may still need one in a special flood hazard area.20 Before choosing a rural parcel, ask the locality’s planning office about subdivision approval and ask its building official about floodplain restrictions.1920
From the Virginia guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
8 of 133 Virginia counties · sorted by Index score
Countywide zoning in Patrick County. The county page states that Patrick County does not have zoning. The comprehensive plan identifies exceptions: the Town of Stuart, forestry …
co.patrick.va.us ↗County zoning in unincorporated Floyd County. The Town of Floyd has its own zoning and subdivision ordinances.
Floyd County Planner Out of Office ↗Countywide zoning ordinance in Carroll County. The county statement does not address independent municipal zoning authority.
carrollcountyva.gov ↗Dickenson County countywide zoning, including unincorporated territory. The FY2025 report states that the county was working on an updated subdivision ordinance; subdivision, se…
FY2025 Local Housing Policies — Dickenson County Report ↗Countywide zoning in Wythe County. The county states that Wytheville and Rural Retreat are zoned by their respective municipalities. The county has a proposed land-use classific…
Proposed Zoning Ordinance FAQs ↗The county code contains subdivision (Land Use, Ch. 51), building, and flood-damage-prevention ordinances but no countywide zoning ordinance with zoning districts.
Buchanan County, VA Code - Table of Contents (eCode360) ↗Comprehensive countywide zoning administered by Tazewell County. The official county Planning Commission minutes state that Tazewell County does not have comprehensive zoning. T…
March 13TH, 2025 Planning Commission Minutes ↗County zoning is not uniform across all parcels in Franklin County's unincorporated area; parcels identified as NZ are not zoned, while other parcels are assigned zoning distric…
Zoning Ordinance ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Virginia state page for all 133 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Virginia counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
