Best Places23551, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23551, 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.
23551 ranks 15,069th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 23551
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.
23551's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23551 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 23551 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Household income$54,408 median, better than only 16% of zip codes
Who lives in 23551
23551 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 23551.
Who works in 23551, and how
Work in 23551 centers on education and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 0%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 23551
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 23551, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23551, month by month
23551 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 23551
The nearest airport, Norfolk International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around 23551
Schools across 23551 average an A−, better than 80% of zip codes.
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 23551 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23551 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 23551 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 23551
Is 23551 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23551 ranks 15,069th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, few empty homes, and walkability, and lowest on civic engagement and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 23551 safe?
23551 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $365 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 23551?
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.
Compare 23551 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23551. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23551 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.
23551 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23551: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23551: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23551: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23551: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23551 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.
- 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.