Best Places24540, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 24540, 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.
24540 ranks 22,519th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on affordable childcare, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 24540
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.
24540's strengths and weaknesses
Where 24540 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$601 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Short commute22.4 minutes each way, better than 73% of zip codes
Where 24540 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Household income$52,441 median, better than only 13% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter 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 24540
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 24540 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,441, 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 24540's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 24540
24540 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 24540.
Who works in 24540, and how
Work in 24540 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 24540
24540 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 85% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 24540 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 24540, month by month
24540 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 39° | 27° |
| April | 75° | 59° | 45° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 24540
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 24540
Schools across 24540 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Stony Mill ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Kentuck ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- Twin Springs ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dan River MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Tunstall MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Chatham MiddleA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Tunstall HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Chatham HighA · 77% proficient
- Dan River HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 24540 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
24540 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 24540 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 24540 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 24540
Is 24540 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 24540 ranks 22,519th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, cheap car insurance, and transit, and lowest on health outcomes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 24540 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,285. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $52,441 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 24540 safe?
24540 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $482 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 24540?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 27. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of zip codes.
Is 24540 good for families?
Schools beat 70% of zip codes, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $601 a month.
Compare 24540 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 24540. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 24540 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.
24540 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 24540: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 24540: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 24540: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 24540: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
24540 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.