Best PlacesCatharpin, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Catharpin, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Catharpin ranks 151st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Catharpin
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.
Catharpin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Catharpin ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Household income$187,906 median, better than 99% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of towns
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of towns
Where Catharpin ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,550 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- Short commute33.3 minutes each way, better than only 19% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Catharpin
A household needs to earn about $232,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Catharpin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $187,906, 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 Catharpin's effective rate of 0.87%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Catharpin
Catharpin's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Catharpin.
Who works in Catharpin, and how
Work in Catharpin centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 61%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Catharpin
The coast is about 37 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Catharpin, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Catharpin, month by month
Catharpin sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Catharpin
Washington Dulles International sits about 7 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Catharpin
Schools across Catharpin average an A+, better than 97% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Buffalo Trail ElementaryA+ · 72% proficient
- Pinebrook ElementaryA+ · 72% proficient
- Samuel L. Gravely Jr. ElementaryA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mercer MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Ronald Wilson Reagan MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Bull Run MiddleA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- Battlefield HighA+ · 83% proficient
- John Champe HighA+ · 81% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Catharpin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Catharpin 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 Catharpin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Catharpin
Is Catharpin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Catharpin ranks 151st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on population health, high incomes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Catharpin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $877,308. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $187,906 median income, cost of living beats 98% of towns.
Is Catharpin safe?
Yes, Catharpin is safer than 91% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $203 per resident a year.
Compare Catharpin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Catharpin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Catharpin 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.
Catharpin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Catharpin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Catharpin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Catharpin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Catharpin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Catharpin 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.