Best Places23126, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23126, 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.
23126 ranks 13,441st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 23126
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.
23126's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23126 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 23126 ranks low
- Short commute39.5 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23126
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23126 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,533, 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 23126's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 23126
23126 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 23126.
Who works in 23126, and how
Work in 23126 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 23126
The coast is about 42 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 23126, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23126, month by month
23126 sees roughly 71 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 23126
Richmond International sits about 30 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 23126
Schools across 23126 average a B, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lawson-marriott ElementaryC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hamilton Holmes MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- King William HighA− · 62% proficient
- Central HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23126 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23126 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 23126 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 23126
Is 23126 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23126 ranks 13,441st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, low crime, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on long commutes and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23126 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,700. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $81,533 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 23126 safe?
Yes, 23126 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $196 per resident a year.
Compare 23126 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23126. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23126 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.
23126 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23126: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23126: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23126: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23126: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23126 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.