Best Places23071, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23071, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
23071 ranks 13,867th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 23071
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.
23071's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23071 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 78% of zip codes
Where 23071 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Short commute32.1 minutes each way, better than only 19% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23071
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23071 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $86,248; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 23071'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 23071
23071 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 23071.
Who works in 23071, and how
Work in 23071 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 23071
The coast is about 8 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 23071, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23071, month by month
23071 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 39° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 23071
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around 23071
Schools across 23071 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Middlesex ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Clare Walker MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Middlesex HighA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23071 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23071 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 23071 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 23071
Is 23071 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23071 ranks 13,867th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, cheap car insurance, and a strong job market, and lowest on disaster risk and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23071 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $355,564. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $86,248 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 23071 safe?
23071 is safer than 53% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $304 per resident a year.
Compare 23071 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23071. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23071 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.
23071 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23071: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23071: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23071: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23071: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23071 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.