Best Places23231, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23231, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
23231 ranks 14,597th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on few empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in 23231
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.
23231's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23231 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 23231 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23231
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23231 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,268, 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 23231's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 23231
23231 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 23231.
Who works in 23231, and how
Work in 23231 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 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 23231
23231 has more late-night spots per resident than 79% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 23231 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23231, month by month
23231 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 23231
Richmond International sits about 3 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 23231
Schools across 23231 average a C, better than 34% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Seven Pines ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Henry D. Ward ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Sandston ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fairfield MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Elko MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- John Rolfe MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Varina HighB+ · 51% proficient
- Charles City County HighB · 48% proficient
- Highland Springs HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23231 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23231 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 23231 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 23231 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 70% of zip codes and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 23231
Is 23231 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23231 ranks 14,597th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, transit, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23231 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $292,075. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $81,268 median income, cost of living beats 70% of zip codes.
Is 23231 safe?
23231 is safer than 27% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $448 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 23231?
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 23231 good for families?
Schools beat 34% of zip codes, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $1,039 a month.
Compare 23231 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23231. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23231 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.
23231 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23231: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23231: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23231: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23231: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23231 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.