Best Places22824, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22824, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
22824 ranks 20,446th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 22824
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.
22824's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22824 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$654 a month, better than 80% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 22824 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Short commute30.6 minutes each way, better than only 26% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 71 pleasant days a year, better than only 27% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22824
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22824 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $64,311, 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 22824'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 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 22824
22824 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 22824.
Who works in 22824, and how
Work in 22824 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 22824
22824 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 22824 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22824, month by month
22824 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 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 | 89° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 22824
The nearest airport, Shenandoah Valley Regional, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22824
Schools across 22824 average a B+, better than 71% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Honey Run ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
- W.w. Robinson ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Fork MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Peter Muhlenberg MiddleB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain View HighB+ · 56% proficient
- Central HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22824 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22824 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 22824 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22824
Is 22824 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22824 ranks 20,446th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, tree cover, and affordable childcare, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22824 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $317,049. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $64,311 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 22824 safe?
22824 is safer than 47% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
Compare 22824 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22824. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22824 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.
22824 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22824: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22824: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22824: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22824: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22824 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.