Best Places23221, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23221, 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.
23221 ranks 461st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 23221
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.
23221's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23221 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 23221 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,120 a month, better than only 23% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23221
A household needs to earn about $161,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23221 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,978, 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 23221'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 23221
23221's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 23221.
Who works in 23221, and how
Work in 23221 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 23221
23221 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 96% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 23221 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23221, month by month
23221 sees roughly 57 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 23221
Richmond International sits about 10 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 23221
Schools across 23221 average an A−, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mary Munford ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- John B. Cary ElementaryD+ · 23% proficient
- William Fox ElementaryD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Albert Hill MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- River City MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Richmond Community HighA+ · 87% proficient
- Huguenot HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23221 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23221 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 23221 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 23221
Is 23221 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23221 ranks 461st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, biking, and what local pay buys, 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 23221 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $602,649. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $125,978 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 23221 safe?
23221 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
Compare 23221 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23221. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23221 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.
23221 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23221: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23221: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23221: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23221: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23221 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.