Best Places24202, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 24202, 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.
24202 ranks 14,717th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 24202
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.
24202's strengths and weaknesses
Where 24202 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 93% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$559 a month, better than 90% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 24202 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Household income$62,097 median, better than only 28% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 24202
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 24202 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,097, 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 24202's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 24202
24202 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 24202.
Who works in 24202, and how
Work in 24202 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 24202
24202 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 24202 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 24202, month by month
24202 sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 66° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 24202
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 120 miles away.
The best schools in and around 24202
Schools across 24202 average an A, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Weber City ElementaryA+ · 82% proficient
- Watauga ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Greendale ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wallace MiddleA+ · 71% proficient
- E.b. Stanley MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Gate City MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Abingdon HighA · 75% proficient
- Gate City HighA · 73% proficient
- John S. Battle HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 24202 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
24202 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 24202 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 24202
Is 24202 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 24202 ranks 14,717th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on state finances and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 24202 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $208,521. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $62,097 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 24202 safe?
Yes, 24202 is safer than 63% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $287 per resident a year.
Compare 24202 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 24202. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 24202 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.
24202 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 24202: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 24202: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 24202: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 24202: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
24202 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.