Best Places22539, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22539, 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.
22539 ranks 12,088th 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 22539
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.
22539's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22539 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 22539 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22539
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22539 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $93,302; 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 22539's effective rate of 0.49%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 22539
22539 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 22539.
Who works in 22539, and how
Work in 22539 centers on other services and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 22539
The coast is about 4 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 22539, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22539, month by month
22539 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 40° | 31° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 22539
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22539
Schools across 22539 average a B+, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northumberland ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northumberland MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Northumberland HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22539 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22539 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 22539 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22539
Is 22539 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22539 ranks 12,088th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and cheap car insurance, 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 22539 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $401,673. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $93,302 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 22539 safe?
Yes, 22539 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
Compare 22539 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22539. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22539 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.
22539 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22539: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22539: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22539: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22539: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22539 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.