Best Places20166, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20166, 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.
20166 ranks 267th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20166
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.
20166's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20166 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$157,105 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 20166 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,632 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20166
A household needs to earn about $171,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20166 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $157,105; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 20166's effective rate of 0.81%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20166
20166 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20166.
Who works in 20166, and how
Work in 20166 centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 20166
20166 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 98% of zip codes. The coast is about 34 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 20166 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20166, month by month
20166 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 20166
Washington Dulles International sits about 4 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 20166
Schools across 20166 average an A−, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rosa Lee Carter ElementaryA+ · 87% proficient
- Floris ElementaryA+ · 82% proficient
- Creighton's Corner ElementaryA+ · 81% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carson MiddleA+ · 88% proficient
- Stone Hill MiddleA+ · 82% proficient
- Farmwell Station MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
Top high schools
- Independence HighA+ · 83% proficient
- John Champe HighA+ · 81% proficient
- Briar Woods HighA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20166 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20166 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 20166 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 20166
Is 20166 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20166 ranks 267th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, high incomes, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20166 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $653,268. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $157,105 median income, cost of living beats 93% of zip codes.
Is 20166 safe?
Yes, 20166 is safer than 81% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
Compare 20166 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20166. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20166 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.
20166 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20166: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20166: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20166: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20166: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20166 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.