Best Places23220, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23220, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
23220 ranks 7,097th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 23220
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.
23220's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23220 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute17.8 minutes each way, better than 92% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 23220 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23220
A household needs to earn about $130,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23220 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,655, 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 23220's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 23220
23220 runs younger 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 23220.
Who works in 23220, and how
Work in 23220 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in 23220
23220 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 23220 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23220, month by month
23220 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 39° | 28° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 46° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 76° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 23220
Richmond International sits about 8 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 23220
Schools across 23220 average a B−, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Linwood Holton ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- John B. Cary ElementaryD+ · 23% proficient
- William Fox ElementaryD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Albert Hill MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Binford MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Henderson MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Richmond Community HighA+ · 87% proficient
- Open HighA+ · 80% proficient
- Richmond AlternativeA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23220 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23220 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 23220 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 23220 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 23220
Is 23220 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23220 ranks 7,097th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and transit, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23220 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $485,671. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $63,655 median income, cost of living beats 33% of zip codes.
Is 23220 safe?
23220 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $465 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 23220?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 28. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of zip codes.
Is 23220 good for families?
Schools beat 72% of zip codes, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $1,120 a month.
Compare 23220 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23220. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23220 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.
23220 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23220: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23220: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23220: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23220: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23220 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.