Best Places24053, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 24053, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
24053 ranks 22,178th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 24053
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.
24053's strengths and weaknesses
Where 24053 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 90% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 24053 ranks low
- Short commute43.7 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 24053
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 24053 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,277, 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 24053's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 24053
24053 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 24053.
Who works in 24053, and how
Work in 24053 centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 24053
24053 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 24053 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 24053, month by month
24053 sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 24053
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 24053
Schools across 24053 average an A, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Meadows Of Dan ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Blue Ridge ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- St. PaulB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carroll County MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Patrick County HighA · 68% proficient
- Carroll County HighA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 24053 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
24053 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 24053 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 24053
Is 24053 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 24053 ranks 22,178th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, cheap car insurance, and good schools, and lowest on long commutes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 24053 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,625. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $65,277 median income, cost of living beats 36% of zip codes.
Is 24053 safe?
24053 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $333 per resident a year.
Compare 24053 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 24053. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 24053 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.
24053 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 24053: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 24053: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 24053: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 24053: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
24053 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.