Best PlacesDalbys, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dalbys, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Dalbys ranks 25,769th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Dalbys
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.
Dalbys' strengths and weaknesses
Where Dalbys ranks high
- TransitBetter than 90% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 85% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 122 pleasant days a year, better than 81% of towns
Where Dalbys ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Dalbys
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dalbys home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,541, 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 Dalbys' effective rate of 0.67%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dalbys
Dalbys 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 Dalbys.
Who works in Dalbys, and how
Work in Dalbys centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Dalbys
The coast is about 7 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Dalbys, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Dalbys, month by month
Dalbys sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 40° | 33° |
| April | 67° | 58° | 50° |
| July | 87° | 79° | 73° |
| October | 71° | 63° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Dalbys
The nearest airport, Norfolk International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dalbys
Schools across Dalbys average a B+, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Kiptopeke ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northampton MiddleB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Northampton HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dalbys school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dalbys 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 Dalbys against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Dalbys
Is Dalbys a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dalbys ranks 25,769th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, health care access, and a strong job market, and lowest on an overheated housing market and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dalbys expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $226,500. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $69,541 median income, cost of living beats 29% of towns.
Is Dalbys safe?
Dalbys is safer than 28% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $408 per resident a year.
Compare Dalbys with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dalbys. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dalbys 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.
Dalbys detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dalbys: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dalbys: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dalbys: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dalbys: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dalbys 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.