Best PlacesBlacksburg, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Blacksburg, 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.
Blacksburg ranks 33,712th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on affordable childcare, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Blacksburg
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.
Blacksburg's strengths and weaknesses
Where Blacksburg ranks high
- Cheap childcare$530 a month, better than 89% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 74% of towns
Where Blacksburg ranks low
- Household income$53,860 median, better than only 17% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 25% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 28% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Blacksburg
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Blacksburg home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,860, 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 Blacksburg's effective rate of 0.42%, 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 Blacksburg
Blacksburg's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Blacksburg.
Who works in Blacksburg, and how
Work in Blacksburg centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Blacksburg
Blacksburg has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Blacksburg and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Blacksburg, month by month
Blacksburg sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 41° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Blacksburg
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 32 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.9 million passengers in 2025, with 213 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Blacksburg
Schools across Blacksburg average a B−, better than 55% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Bethany ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Blacksburg ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Hickory Grove-sharon ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clover MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Gaffney MiddleC− · 28% proficient
- Blacksburg MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Clover HighA · 73% proficient
- York Comprehensive HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Blacksburg HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Blacksburg school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Blacksburg 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 Blacksburg against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Blacksburg
Is Blacksburg a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Blacksburg ranks 33,712th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and low property taxes, and lowest on low incomes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Blacksburg expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $143,325. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $53,860 median income, cost of living beats 25% of towns.
Is Blacksburg safe?
Blacksburg is safer than 38% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $428 per resident a year.
Compare Blacksburg with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Blacksburg. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Blacksburg 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.
Blacksburg detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Blacksburg: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Blacksburg: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Blacksburg: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Blacksburg: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Blacksburg 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.