Best Places22181, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22181, 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.
22181 ranks 13th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 22181
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.
22181's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22181 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$208,787 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 22181 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,512 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22181
A household needs to earn about $257,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22181 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $208,787, 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 22181's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 22181
22181 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 22181.
Who works in 22181, and how
Work in 22181 centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 22181
22181 has more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. The coast is about 25 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 22181 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22181, month by month
22181 sees roughly 62 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 22181
Washington Dulles International sits about 10 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 22181
Schools across 22181 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Archer ElementaryA+ · 86% proficient
- Flint Hill ElementaryA+ · 81% proficient
- Sunrise Valley ElementaryA+ · 81% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thoreau MiddleA+ · 82% proficient
- Hughes MiddleA · 63% proficient
- Jackson MiddleA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Oakton HighA+ · 81% proficient
- Madison HighA+ · 80% proficient
- South Lakes HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22181 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22181 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 22181 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22181
Is 22181 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22181 ranks 13th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, low crime, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22181 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $959,610. The overall cost of living runs about 36% above the national average. Set against a $208,787 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 22181 safe?
Yes, 22181 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $128 per resident a year.
Compare 22181 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22181. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22181 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.
22181 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22181: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22181: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22181: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22181: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22181 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.