 According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.0 square miles (12.9 km2), all of it land.Amherst is 25 miles southeast of Lexington, 44 miles southwest from Charlottesville, 20 miles northwest from Appomattox, and only 13 miles north of Lynchburg.As of the census of 2000, there were 2,251 people, 940 households, and 568 families residing in the town.