Best PlacesChestnut Knob, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chestnut Knob, 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.
Chestnut Knob ranks 37,720th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chestnut Knob
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.
Chestnut Knob's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chestnut Knob ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap childcare$513 a month, better than 91% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of towns
Where Chestnut Knob ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of towns
- Household income$42,321 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Short commute37.2 minutes each way, better than only 9% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chestnut Knob
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chestnut Knob home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $42,321; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Chestnut Knob's effective rate of 0.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Chestnut Knob
Chestnut Knob 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 Chestnut Knob.
Who works in Chestnut Knob, and how
Work in Chestnut Knob centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Chestnut Knob
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Chestnut Knob.
What the weather is like in Chestnut Knob, month by month
Chestnut Knob sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 36° | 25° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Chestnut Knob
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 81 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chestnut Knob
Schools across Chestnut Knob average a B+, better than 78% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Drewry Mason ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Rich Acres ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Laurel Park MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Magna Vista HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chestnut Knob school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chestnut Knob 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 Chestnut Knob against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chestnut Knob
Is Chestnut Knob a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chestnut Knob ranks 37,720th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on education levels and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chestnut Knob expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,000. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $42,321 median income, cost of living beats 11% of towns.
Is Chestnut Knob safe?
Chestnut Knob is safer than 22% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $423 per resident a year.
Compare Chestnut Knob with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chestnut Knob. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chestnut Knob 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.
Chestnut Knob detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chestnut Knob: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chestnut Knob: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chestnut Knob: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chestnut Knob: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chestnut Knob 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.