Best PlacesCritz, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Critz, 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.
Critz ranks 19,989th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Critz
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.
Critz's strengths and weaknesses
Where Critz ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of towns
Where Critz ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 20% of towns
- Household income$58,487 median, better than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Critz
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Critz home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,487, 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 Critz's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Critz
Critz's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Critz.
Who works in Critz, and how
Work in Critz centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Critz
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Critz.
What the weather is like in Critz, month by month
Critz sees roughly 72 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 Critz
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around Critz
Schools across Critz average an A−, better than 89% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Patrick Springs PrimaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hardin Reynolds Memorial SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Patrick County HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Critz school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Critz 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 Critz against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Critz
Is Critz a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Critz ranks 19,989th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, cheap car insurance, and good schools, and lowest on internet speeds and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Critz expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $110,360. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $58,487 median income, cost of living beats 25% of towns.
Is Critz safe?
Yes, Critz is safer than 88% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $192 per resident a year.
Compare Critz with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Critz. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Critz 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.
Critz detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Critz: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Critz: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Critz: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Critz: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Critz 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.