Best Places22542, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22542, 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.
22542 ranks 7,043rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Long commutes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on few empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in 22542
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.
22542's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22542 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Household income$103,210 median, better than 82% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 82% of zip codes
Where 22542 ranks low
- Short commute45.5 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22542
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22542 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,210, 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 22542's effective rate of 0.53%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 22542
22542'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 22542.
Who works in 22542, and how
Work in 22542 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 22542
The coast is about 46 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 22542, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22542, month by month
22542 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 22542
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22542
Schools across 22542 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Locust Grove MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Orange County HighA · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22542 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22542 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 22542 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22542
Is 22542 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22542 ranks 7,043rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, what local pay buys, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on long commutes and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22542 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $365,577. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $103,210 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 22542 safe?
Yes, 22542 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $240 per resident a year.
Compare 22542 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22542. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22542 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.
22542 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22542: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22542: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22542: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22542: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22542 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.