Best Places22534, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22534, 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.
22534 ranks 9,867th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 22534
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.
22534's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22534 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 83% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 22534 ranks low
- Short commute38.6 minutes each way, better than only 5% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22534
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22534 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $97,399, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 22534's effective rate of 0.65%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 22534
22534's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 22534.
Who works in 22534, and how
Work in 22534 centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 22534
The coast is about 46 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 22534, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22534, month by month
22534 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, 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 | 48° | 38° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 22534
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22534
Schools across 22534 average an A−, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Berkeley ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Riverview ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Livingston ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Post Oak MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Spotsylvania HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22534 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22534 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 22534 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22534
Is 22534 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22534 ranks 9,867th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, cheap car insurance, and good schools, and lowest on long commutes and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22534 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $343,790. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $97,399 median income, cost of living beats 50% of zip codes.
Is 22534 safe?
Yes, 22534 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $229 per resident a year.
Compare 22534 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22534. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22534 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.
22534 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22534: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22534: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22534: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22534: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22534 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.