Best Places23185, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23185, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
23185 ranks 2,793rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 23185
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.
23185's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23185 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 92% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 90% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 23185 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 23% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23185
A household needs to earn about $114,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23185 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $106,248; 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 23185's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 23185
23185's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 23185.
Who works in 23185, and how
Work in 23185 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 73%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 23185
23185 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. The coast is about 17 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 23185 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23185, month by month
23185 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 76° | 65° | 57° |
Flying in and out of 23185
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around 23185
Schools across 23185 average an A, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Waller Mill ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Matoaka ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Magruder ElementaryA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Yorktown MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Queens Lake MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Lois Hornsby MiddleA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Jamestown HighA · 79% proficient
- Lafayette HighA · 73% proficient
- Bruton HighA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23185 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23185 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 23185 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 23185 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 23185
Is 23185 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23185 ranks 2,793rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, what local pay buys, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on state finances and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23185 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $444,762. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $106,248 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 23185 safe?
Yes, 23185 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $280 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 23185?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 33. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of zip codes.
Is 23185 good for families?
Schools beat 92% of zip codes, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $900 a month.
Compare 23185 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23185. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23185 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.
23185 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23185: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23185: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23185: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23185: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23185 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.