Best PlacesGalax, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Galax, 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.
Galax ranks 30,413th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. Low incomes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on transit.
The best neighborhoods in Galax
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.
Galax's strengths and weaknesses
Where Galax ranks high
- TransitBetter than 90% of towns
- Cheap childcare$534 a month, better than 89% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of towns
Where Galax ranks low
- Household income$48,018 median, better than only 10% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Galax
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Galax home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,018, 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 Galax's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Galax
Galax 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 Galax.
Who works in Galax, and how
Work in Galax centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Galax
Galax has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of towns and more parkland per resident than 86% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Galax and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Galax, month by month
Galax sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 66° | 54° | 43° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Galax
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around Galax
Schools across Galax average an A−, better than 88% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Fairview ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Independence ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Fries ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Independence MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
- Carroll County MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Galax MiddleA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Grayson County HighA · 73% proficient
- Carroll County HighA− · 66% proficient
- Galax HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Galax school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Galax 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 Galax against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Galax
Is Galax a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Galax ranks 30,413th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, affordable childcare, and heat safety, and lowest on low incomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Galax expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,475. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $48,018 median income, cost of living beats 13% of towns.
Is Galax safe?
Galax is safer than 34% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $375 per resident a year.
Compare Galax with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Galax. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Galax 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.
Galax detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Galax: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Galax: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Galax: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Galax: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Galax 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.