Best Places24121, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 24121, 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.
24121 ranks 11,701st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 24121
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.
24121's strengths and weaknesses
Where 24121 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 24121 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute35.5 minutes each way, better than only 10% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 24121
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 24121 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,384, 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 24121's effective rate of 0.44%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 24121
24121 runs older 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 24121.
Who works in 24121, and how
Work in 24121 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 24121
24121 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 24121 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 24121, month by month
24121 sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 38° | 28° |
| April | 74° | 59° | 46° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 24121
The nearest airport, Roanoke/Blacksburg Regional (Woodrum Field), is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around 24121
Schools across 24121 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dudley ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Burnt Chimney ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Moneta ElementaryA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benjamin Franklin MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Staunton River MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Franklin County HighA · 76% proficient
- Staunton River HighB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 24121 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
24121 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 24121 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 24121
Is 24121 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 24121 ranks 11,701st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and low disaster risk, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 24121 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $420,998. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $85,384 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 24121 safe?
Yes, 24121 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
Compare 24121 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 24121. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 24121 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.
24121 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 24121: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 24121: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 24121: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 24121: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
24121 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.