Best Places23138, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23138, 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.
23138 ranks 23,068th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 23138
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.
23138's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23138 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 23138 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute36.1 minutes each way, better than only 9% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23138
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23138 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,387, 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 23138's effective rate of 0.52%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 23138
23138 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 23138.
Who works in 23138, and how
Work in 23138 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 23138
The coast is about 7 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 23138, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23138, month by month
23138 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, 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 | 52° | 40° | 30° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 23138
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 56 miles away.
The best schools in and around 23138
Schools across 23138 average an A−, better than 81% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mathews ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thomas Hunter MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Mathews HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23138 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23138 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 23138 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 23138
Is 23138 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23138 ranks 23,068th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, health care access, and a strong job market, and lowest on disaster risk and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23138 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $301,896. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $62,387 median income, cost of living beats 30% of zip codes.
Is 23138 safe?
23138 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
Compare 23138 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23138. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23138 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.
23138 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23138: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23138: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23138: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23138: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23138 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.