Best Places23504, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23504, 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.
23504 ranks 27,852nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 23504
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.
23504's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23504 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 23504 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Household income$49,785 median, better than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23504
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23504 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,785, 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 23504's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 23504
23504 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 23504.
Who works in 23504, and how
Work in 23504 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in 23504
23504 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. The coast is about 8 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 23504 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23504, month by month
23504 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 33° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 92° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 76° | 65° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 23504
The nearest airport, Norfolk International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around 23504
Schools across 23504 average a B−, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lake TaylorC− · 29% proficient
- Richard Bowling ElementaryD · 16% proficient
- Lindenwood ElementaryD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Academy For Discovery At LakewoodA · 63% proficient
- Blair MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Azalea Gardens MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Matthew Fontaine Maury HighA− · 61% proficient
- Norview HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Granby HighB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23504 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23504 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 23504 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 23504 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 23504
Is 23504 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23504 ranks 27,852nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, and lowest on noise and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23504 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $258,682. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $49,785 median income, cost of living beats 11% of zip codes.
Is 23504 safe?
23504 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $810 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 23504?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 33. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 32% of zip codes.
Is 23504 good for families?
Schools beat 63% of zip codes, crime safety beats 7%, and childcare runs $983 a month.
Compare 23504 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23504. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23504 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.
23504 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23504: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23504: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23504: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23504: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23504 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.