Best Places22901, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22901, 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.
22901 ranks 3,208th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 22901
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.
22901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22901 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of zip codes
Where 22901 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,161 a month, better than only 21% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22901
A household needs to earn about $136,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $110,794, 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 22901's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 22901
22901 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 22901.
Who works in 22901, and how
Work in 22901 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 22901
22901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 22901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22901, month by month
22901 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 39° | 28° |
| April | 74° | 60° | 46° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 61° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 22901
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22901
Schools across 22901 average an A−, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Virginia L. Murray ElementaryA+ · 87% proficient
- Hollymead ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
- Meriwether Lewis ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Joseph T. Henley MiddleA+ · 84% proficient
- Lakeside MiddleA+ · 78% proficient
- Journey MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Western Albemarle HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Albemarle HighA · 74% proficient
- Charlottesville HighA · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22901 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 22901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 22901 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of zip codes and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 58% of zip codes and health care access beats 89%.
Common questions about living in 22901
Is 22901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22901 ranks 3,208th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, what local pay buys, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on noise and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $525,572. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $110,794 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 22901 safe?
22901 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $533 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 22901?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 28. That works out to about 93 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of zip codes.
Is 22901 good for families?
Schools beat 88% of zip codes, crime safety beats 18%, and childcare runs $1,161 a month.
Compare 22901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22901 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.
22901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22901 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.