Best Places23086, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23086, 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.
23086 ranks 8,884th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Long commutes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on cheap car insurance.
The best neighborhoods in 23086
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.
23086's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23086 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 81% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 81% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Household income$94,588 median, better than 76% of zip codes
Where 23086 ranks low
- Short commute37.3 minutes each way, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 23% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23086
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23086 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,588, 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 23086's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 23086
23086 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 23086.
Who works in 23086, and how
Work in 23086 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 23086
The coast is about 41 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 23086, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23086, month by month
23086 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 23086
Richmond International sits about 19 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.5 million passengers in 2025, with 72 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 23086
Schools across 23086 average an A−, better than 81% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Acquinton ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hamilton Holmes MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- King William HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23086 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23086 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 23086 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 23086
Is 23086 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23086 ranks 8,884th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, what local pay buys, and good schools, and lowest on long commutes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23086 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $300,104. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $94,588 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 23086 safe?
Yes, 23086 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
Compare 23086 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23086. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23086 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.
23086 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23086: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23086: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23086: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23086: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23086 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.