Best PlacesBuchanan County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Buchanan County, 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.
Buchanan County ranks 2,865th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Buchanan County
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.
Buchanan County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Buchanan County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of counties
- Cheap childcare$512 a month, better than 88% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 85% of counties
Where Buchanan County ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of counties
- Household income$43,982 median, better than only 3% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Buchanan County
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Buchanan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,982, 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 Buchanan County's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Buchanan County
Buchanan County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Buchanan County.
Who works in Buchanan County, and how
Work in Buchanan County centers on mining & oil & gas and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Buchanan County
Buchanan County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Buchanan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Buchanan County growing, and who is moving in?
Buchanan County has lost about 20% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Tazewell County, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Buchanan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Buchanan County, month by month
Buchanan County sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 34° | 28° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 44° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Buchanan County
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 155 miles away.
The best schools in and around Buchanan County
Schools across Buchanan County average a B+, better than 85% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Richlands ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
- Twin Valley Elementary/middleB+ · 53% proficient
- Riverview Elementary/middleB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richlands MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Ridgeview MiddleA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Richlands HighA · 72% proficient
- Council HighA · 70% proficient
- Grundy HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Buchanan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Buchanan County 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 Buchanan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Buchanan County suits
Common questions about living in Buchanan County
Is Buchanan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Buchanan County ranks 2,865th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, tree cover, and affordable childcare, and lowest on cell coverage and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Buchanan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $106,000. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $43,982 median income, cost of living beats 3% of counties.
Is Buchanan County safe?
Buchanan County is safer than 34% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $392 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Buchanan County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 28. That works out to about 107 pleasant days a year, more than 65% of counties.
Is Buchanan County good for families?
Schools beat 85% of counties, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $512 a month.
Compare Buchanan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Buchanan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Buchanan County 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.
Buchanan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Buchanan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Buchanan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Buchanan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Buchanan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Buchanan County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.