Best Places20129, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20129, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
20129 ranks 260th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20129
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.
20129's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20129 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$237,679 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 20129 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,632 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 71 pleasant days a year, better than only 28% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20129
A household needs to earn about $282,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20129 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $237,679, 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 20129's effective rate of 0.75%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 20129
20129 runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20129.
Who works in 20129, and how
Work in 20129 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 39%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 20129
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 20129.
What the weather is like in 20129, month by month
20129 sees roughly 71 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 20129
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 20129
Schools across 20129 average an A, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kenneth W.culbert ElementaryA+ · 77% proficient
- Waterford ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Catoctin ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Blue Ridge MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Harmony MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Smart's Mill MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- 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 20129 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20129 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 20129 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 20129
Is 20129 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20129 ranks 260th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and an educated workforce, 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 20129 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,085,251. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $237,679 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 20129 safe?
Yes, 20129 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $156 per resident a year.
Compare 20129 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20129. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20129 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.
20129 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20129: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20129: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20129: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20129: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20129 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.