Best Places24450, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 24450, 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.
24450 ranks 7,807th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 24450
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.
24450's strengths and weaknesses
Where 24450 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 91% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 24450 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 24450
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 24450 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,552, 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 24450's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 24450
24450 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 24450.
Who works in 24450, and how
Work in 24450 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 24450
24450 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 69% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 24450 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 24450, month by month
24450 sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 23° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 79° | 70° | 64° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 24450
The nearest airport, Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 118 miles away.
The best schools in and around 24450
Schools across 24450 average an A−, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Harrington Waddell ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Mountain View ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Central ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lylburn Downing MiddleA+ · 82% proficient
- Maury River MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Rockbridge County HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 24450 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
24450 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 24450 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 24450
Is 24450 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 24450 ranks 7,807th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, cheap car insurance, and good schools, and lowest on state finances and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 24450 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $304,439. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $79,552 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 24450 safe?
24450 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $411 per resident a year.
Compare 24450 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 24450. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 24450 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.
24450 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 24450: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 24450: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 24450: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 24450: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
24450 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.