Best PlacesGoochland County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Goochland County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Goochland County ranks 50th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Goochland 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.
Goochland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Goochland County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 97% of counties
- Household income$121,376 median, better than 97% of counties
Where Goochland County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,126 a month, better than only 10% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 12% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Goochland County
A household needs to earn about $127,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Goochland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $121,376; 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 Goochland County's effective rate of 0.51%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Goochland County
Goochland County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Goochland County.
Who works in Goochland County, and how
Work in Goochland 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 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Goochland County
Goochland County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Goochland County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Goochland County growing, and who is moving in?
Goochland County has grown about 29% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Richmond, VA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Goochland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Goochland County, month by month
Goochland County sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 37° | 27° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Goochland County
Richmond International sits about 31 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.5 million passengers in 2025, with 72 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Goochland County
Schools across Goochland County average an A, better than 97% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Gayton ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
- David A. Kaechele ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Bettie Weaver ElementaryA+ · 82% proficient
Top middle schools
- Robious MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Tuckahoe MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Short Pump MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Louisa County HighA+ · 85% proficient
- Deep Run HighA+ · 83% proficient
- Mills E. Godwin HighA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Goochland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Goochland 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 Goochland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Goochland County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Goochland County
Is Goochland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Goochland County ranks 50th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and what local pay buys, and lowest on walkability and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Goochland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $504,321. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $121,376 median income, cost of living beats 99% of counties.
Is Goochland County safe?
Yes, Goochland County is safer than 89% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Goochland County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 27. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of counties.
Is Goochland County good for families?
Schools beat 97% of counties, crime safety beats 89%, and childcare runs $1,126 a month.
Compare Goochland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Goochland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Goochland 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.
Goochland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Goochland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Goochland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Goochland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Goochland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Goochland 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.