Best Places22903, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 22903, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
22903 ranks 4,889th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 22903
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.
22903's strengths and weaknesses
Where 22903 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute17.9 minutes each way, better than 92% of zip codes
Where 22903 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,170 a month, better than only 21% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 22903
A household needs to earn about $150,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 22903 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,001, 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 22903's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 22903
22903 runs younger 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 22903.
Who works in 22903, and how
Work in 22903 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in 22903
22903 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 22903 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 22903, month by month
22903 sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 30° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 48° |
| July | 85° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 22903
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around 22903
Schools across 22903 average an A−, better than 85% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Virginia L. Murray ElementaryA+ · 87% proficient
- Brownsville ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Venable ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Joseph T. Henley MiddleA+ · 84% proficient
- Journey MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
- Leslie H. Walton MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Western Albemarle HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Albemarle HighA · 74% proficient
- Community Lab SchoolA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 22903 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
22903 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 22903 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 22903 suits
Common questions about living in 22903
Is 22903 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 22903 ranks 4,889th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, an educated workforce, and population health, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 22903 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $574,755. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $85,001 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 22903 safe?
22903 is safer than 15% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $545 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 22903?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 30. That works out to about 117 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of zip codes.
Is 22903 good for families?
Schools beat 85% of zip codes, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $1,170 a month.
Compare 22903 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 22903. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 22903 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.
22903 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 22903: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 22903: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 22903: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 22903: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
22903 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.