Best Places24517, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 24517, 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.
24517 ranks 22,728th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Noise pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in 24517
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.
24517's strengths and weaknesses
Where 24517 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$577 a month, better than 86% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 24517 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Household income$51,802 median, better than only 12% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 24517
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 24517 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,802, 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 24517'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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 24517
24517 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 24517.
Who works in 24517, and how
Work in 24517 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 24517
24517 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 24517 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 24517, month by month
24517 sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 37° | 26° |
| April | 74° | 58° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 66° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 24517
The nearest airport, Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around 24517
Schools across 24517 average an A−, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Yellow Branch ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Altavista ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gretna MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Brookville MiddleA− · 56% proficient
- Rustburg MiddleA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Brookville HighA · 73% proficient
- Rustburg HighA · 70% proficient
- Altavista HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 24517 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
24517 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 24517 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 24517
Is 24517 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 24517 ranks 22,728th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low disaster risk, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on noise and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 24517 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $141,030. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $51,802 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 24517 safe?
24517 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $530 per resident a year.
Compare 24517 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 24517. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 24517 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.
24517 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 24517: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 24517: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 24517: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 24517: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
24517 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.