Best Places20117, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20117, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
20117 ranks 3,182nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20117
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
20117's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20117 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 93% of zip codes
- Household income$129,738 median, better than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 20117 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,598 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Short commute32.5 minutes each way, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20117
A household needs to earn about $257,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20117 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $129,738, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 20117's effective rate of 0.74%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20117
20117 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20117.
Who works in 20117, and how
Work in 20117 centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 20117
20117 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes. The coast is about 51 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20117 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20117, month by month
20117 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 20117
Washington Dulles International sits about 16 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 20117
Schools across 20117 average an A, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Aldie ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Sycolin Creek ElementaryA+ · 72% proficient
- Middleburg Community CharterA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mercer MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Blue Ridge MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- J. Lupton Simpson MiddleA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- John Champe HighA+ · 81% proficient
- Loudoun Valley HighA · 79% proficient
- Loudoun County HighA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20117 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20117 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 20117 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 20117
Is 20117 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20117 ranks 3,182nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, an educated workforce, and good schools, and lowest on childcare costs and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20117 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $992,711. The overall cost of living runs about 50% above the national average. Set against a $129,738 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 20117 safe?
Yes, 20117 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
Compare 20117 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20117. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20117 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
20117 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20117: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20117: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20117: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20117: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20117 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.