Best Places23834, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 23834, 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.
23834 ranks 9,674th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Noise pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on cheap car insurance.
The best neighborhoods in 23834
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.
23834's strengths and weaknesses
Where 23834 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 82% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 80% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 23834 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,128 a month, better than only 22% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 23834
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 23834 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $87,726, 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 23834's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 23834
23834's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 23834.
Who works in 23834, and how
Work in 23834 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 23834
23834 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 92% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 23834 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 23834, month by month
23834 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 38° | 27° |
| April | 74° | 58° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 23834
Richmond International sits about 16 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 23834
Schools across 23834 average a B+, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tussing ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Marguerite F. Christian ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Elizabeth Scott ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Colonial Heights MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Matoaca MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Elizabeth Davis MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Colonial Heights HighA · 78% proficient
- Matoaca HighA− · 65% proficient
- Thomas Dale HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 23834 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
23834 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 23834 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 23834 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of zip codes and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 23834
Is 23834 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 23834 ranks 9,674th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, good schools, 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 23834 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,920. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $87,726 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 23834 safe?
23834 is safer than 27% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $488 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 23834?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 27. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 15% of zip codes.
Is 23834 good for families?
Schools beat 82% of zip codes, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $1,128 a month.
Compare 23834 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 23834. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 23834 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.
23834 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 23834: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 23834: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 23834: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 23834: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
23834 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.