Best Places22503, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22503, 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.
22503 ranks 24,930th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 22503
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.
22503's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22503 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 22503 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22503
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22503 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $70,522; 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 22503's effective rate of 0.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 22503
22503 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 22503.
Who works in 22503, and how
Work in 22503 centers on admin & support services and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 22503
The coast is about 8 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 22503, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22503, month by month
22503 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 22503
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 48 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22503
Schools across 22503 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northumberland ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
- Lancaster PrimaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northumberland MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Lancaster MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Northumberland HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Lancaster HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22503 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22503 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 22503 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22503
Is 22503 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22503 ranks 24,930th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, tree cover, and quiet, and lowest on disaster risk and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22503 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $290,472. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $70,522 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 22503 safe?
22503 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $493 per resident a year.
Compare 22503 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22503. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22503 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.
22503 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22503: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22503: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22503: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22503: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22503 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.