Best Places22480, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22480, 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.
22480 ranks 14,256th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 22480
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.
22480's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22480 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 22480 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22480
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22480 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $83,472, 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 22480's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 22480
22480 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 22480.
Who works in 22480, and how
Work in 22480 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 22480
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 22480, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22480, month by month
22480 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 39° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 22480
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22480
Schools across 22480 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lancaster PrimaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lancaster MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Lancaster HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22480 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22480 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 22480 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22480
Is 22480 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22480 ranks 14,256th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and a strong job market, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22480 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $413,864. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $83,472 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 22480 safe?
22480 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $425 per resident a year.
Compare 22480 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22480. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22480 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.
22480 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22480: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22480: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22480: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22480: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22480 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.