Best Places20198, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20198, 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.
20198 ranks 7,602nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 20198
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.
20198's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20198 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$118,657 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 20198 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20198
A household needs to earn about $244,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20198 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $118,657, 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 20198's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 20198
20198 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20198.
Who works in 20198, and how
Work in 20198 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 20198
The coast is about 44 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 20198, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20198, month by month
20198 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 34° | 23° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 20198
Washington Dulles International sits about 17 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 20198
Schools across 20198 average an A−, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Claude Thompson ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- W.g. Coleman ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Marshall MiddleA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Kettle Run HighA · 71% proficient
- Fauquier HighA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20198 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20198 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 20198 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 20198
Is 20198 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20198 ranks 7,602nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, cheap car insurance, and high incomes, and lowest on state finances and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20198 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $964,531. The overall cost of living runs about 60% above the national average. Set against a $118,657 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 20198 safe?
20198 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $357 per resident a year.
Compare 20198 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20198. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20198 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.
20198 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20198: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20198: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20198: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20198: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20198 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.