Best Places24581, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 24581, 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.
24581 ranks 29,181st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 24581
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.
24581's strengths and weaknesses
Where 24581 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 24581 ranks low
- Short commute44.9 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 24581
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 24581 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $64,194, 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 24581's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 24581
24581 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 24581.
Who works in 24581, and how
Work in 24581 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 24581
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 24581.
What the weather is like in 24581, month by month
24581 sees roughly 60 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 | 74° | 59° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 75° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 24581
The nearest airport, Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 24581
Schools across 24581 average a B+, better than 73% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tye River ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nelson MiddleA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Nelson County HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 24581 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
24581 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 24581 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 24581
Is 24581 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 24581 ranks 29,181st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, low property taxes, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on long commutes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 24581 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $332,278. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $64,194 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 24581 safe?
24581 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $489 per resident a year.
Compare 24581 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 24581. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 24581 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.
24581 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 24581: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 24581: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 24581: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 24581: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
24581 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.