I'm not very familiar with the subcultures of this area. There isn't any kind of college presence to note, and the racial demographics are boring (96% white). Though I suspect there has been brain drain and die-off, as the % of people in the county between 20-44 went from 31% in 2000 to 26% in 2010, as well as going from 15.7% of the population being over 65 in 2000 to 20.3% in 2010.
From the 2018 Estimates the 65 and over population is now 24.1% and the county-city have lost 8.3% of it's population this decade. Covington city and Alleghany are down to about 20,000 from a peak of around 28,500 in 1980. If Wiki is right the paper mill employees 1300 people which makes it a massive employer. I've been through there but have never stopped in Covington or Clifton Forge. They both look very picturesque but I'd assume that the paper mill probably limits any potential for Covington to be a tourist or retirement town. With such an elderly demo it's probably hard to attract other manufacturers or distributors to the area even though they're on an interstate (and unfortunately I-81 soaks up most the energy for that kind of thing). They're not large enough to be a regional medical center (and they're within an hour of Roanoke). None of this really answers your question but I really don't know what ultimately will happen to places like this. I mean there are places old like this and that are growing, but they are attracting retirees and medical jobs whereas this is just the local population dying in place. And if the paper mill shuts down?
A little view of Covington
http://porterbriggs.com/16420-2/
