Best PlacesDowntown Newport News, Newport News, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Newport News, Newport News, 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.
Downtown Newport News, Newport News ranks 4,645th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Newport News, Newport News
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.
Downtown Newport News, Newport News' strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Newport News, Newport News ranks high
- Short commute16.3 minutes each way, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$872 a month, better than 79% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 64% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Newport News, Newport News ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Newport News, Newport News
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Newport News, Newport News home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,641, 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 Downtown Newport News, Newport News' effective rate of 0.98%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Newport News, Newport News
Downtown Newport News, Newport News runs younger 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 Downtown Newport News, Newport News.
Who works in Downtown Newport News, Newport News, and how
Work in Downtown Newport News, Newport News centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 46%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 34%
Life in Downtown Newport News, Newport News
Downtown Newport News, Newport News has more parkland per resident than 88% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 10 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Downtown Newport News, Newport News and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Newport News, Newport News, month by month
Downtown Newport News, Newport News sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| April | 72° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 90° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Newport News, Newport News
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Newport News, Newport News
Schools across Downtown Newport News, Newport News average a C+, better than 58% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Hilton ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Achievable Dream AcademyC · 33% proficient
- Carver ElementaryD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Crittenden MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Homer L. Hines MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Warwick HighA− · 60% proficient
- Heritage HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Newport News, Newport News school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Newport News, Newport News 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 Downtown Newport News, Newport News against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Newport News, Newport News
Is Downtown Newport News, Newport News a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Newport News, Newport News ranks 4,645th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, cheap car insurance, and affordable childcare, and lowest on an overheated housing market and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Newport News, Newport News expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $195,952. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $63,641 median income, cost of living beats 50% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Newport News, Newport News safe?
Downtown Newport News, Newport News is safer than 8% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,430 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Newport News, Newport News with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Newport News, Newport News. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Newport News, Newport News 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.
Downtown Newport News, Newport News detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Newport News, Newport News: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Newport News, Newport News: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Newport News, Newport News: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Newport News, Newport News: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Newport News, Newport News 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.