Best Places23508, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23508, 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.
23508 ranks 6,299th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 23508
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.
23508's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23508 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 23508 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23508
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23508 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $78,382, 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 23508's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 23508
23508 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 23508.
Who works in 23508, and how
Work in 23508 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in 23508
23508 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of zip codes. The coast is about 7 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 23508 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23508, month by month
23508 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 34° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 75° | 65° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 23508
The nearest airport, Norfolk International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around 23508
Schools across 23508 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Larchmont ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- James Monroe ElementaryD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Academy For Discovery At LakewoodA · 63% proficient
- Blair MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Matthew Fontaine Maury HighA− · 61% proficient
- Granby HighB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23508 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23508 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 23508 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 23508 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 23508
Is 23508 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23508 ranks 6,299th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23508 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $368,174. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $78,382 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 23508 safe?
23508 is safer than 23% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $486 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 23508?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 34. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 37% of zip codes.
Is 23508 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 23%, and childcare runs $983 a month.
Compare 23508 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23508. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23508 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.
23508 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23508: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23508: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23508: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23508: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23508 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.