Best PlacesCulpeper County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Culpeper County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Culpeper County ranks 428th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Culpeper 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.
The best areas in Culpeper County
The parts of Culpeper County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Amissville & Jeffersonton
Tree cover is thicker, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Rixeyville
It is quieter and crime runs lower.
Culpeper
Biking is better, though fewer residents vote.
Scores across Culpeper County run from about the 25th to the 93rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Culpeper County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Culpeper County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of counties
- Household income$102,700 median, better than 93% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of counties
- TransitBetter than 86% of counties
Where Culpeper County ranks low
- Short commute35.9 minutes each way, better than only 3% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 31% of counties
- Cheap childcare$859 a month, better than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Culpeper County
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Culpeper County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $102,700; 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 Culpeper County's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Culpeper County
Culpeper County'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 Culpeper County.
Who works in Culpeper County, and how
Work in Culpeper County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Culpeper County
Culpeper County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. The coast is about 57 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Culpeper County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Culpeper County growing, and who is moving in?
Culpeper County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Washington, DC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Culpeper County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Culpeper County, month by month
Culpeper County sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 24° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 92° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Culpeper County
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around Culpeper County
Schools across Culpeper County average an A−, better than 90% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Emerald Hill ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- A.g. Richardson ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Orange ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Locust Grove MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Culpeper MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Floyd T. Binns MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Eastern View HighA · 70% proficient
- Orange County HighA · 67% proficient
- Culpeper County HighA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Culpeper County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Culpeper 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 Culpeper County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Culpeper County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 70% of counties and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Culpeper County
Is Culpeper County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Culpeper County ranks 428th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and high incomes, and lowest on long commutes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Culpeper County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $421,873. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $102,700 median income, cost of living beats 70% of counties.
Is Culpeper County safe?
Yes, Culpeper County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $271 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Culpeper County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 24. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Culpeper County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Amissville & Jeffersonton, Rixeyville, and Culpeper. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Culpeper County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Culpeper County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Culpeper 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.
Culpeper County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Culpeper County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Culpeper County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Culpeper County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Culpeper County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Culpeper 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.