Best Places22827, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22827, 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.
22827 ranks 9,846th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 22827
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.
22827's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22827 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 22827 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22827
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22827 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,914, 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 22827's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 22827
22827 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 22827.
Who works in 22827, and how
Work in 22827 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 22827
22827 has more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 22827 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22827, month by month
22827 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 22827
The nearest airport, Shenandoah Valley Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22827
Schools across 22827 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mcgaheysville ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- South River ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Elkton ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Montevideo MiddleA · 59% proficient
- J. Frank Hillyard MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Elkton MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Spotswood HighA · 74% proficient
- Broadway HighA · 72% proficient
- East Rockingham HighA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22827 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22827 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 22827 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 22827
Is 22827 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22827 ranks 9,846th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and tree cover, and lowest on education levels and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22827 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $260,921. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $72,914 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 22827 safe?
Yes, 22827 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $208 per resident a year.
Compare 22827 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22827. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22827 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.
22827 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22827: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22827: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22827: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22827: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22827 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.