Best PlacesGrayson County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Grayson County, 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.
Grayson County ranks 2,089th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Grayson 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.
Grayson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Grayson County ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 98% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of counties
Where Grayson County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Grayson County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Grayson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,911, 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 Grayson County's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 Grayson County
Grayson County 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 Grayson County.
Who works in Grayson County, and how
Work in Grayson County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Grayson County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Grayson County.
Is Grayson County growing, and who is moving in?
Grayson County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Carroll County, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Grayson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Grayson County, month by month
Grayson County sees roughly 95 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 Grayson County
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 73 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around Grayson County
Schools across Grayson County average an A, better than 98% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Grayson HighlandsA+ · 78% proficient
- Fairview ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Independence ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rural Retreat MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Independence MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Grayson County HighA · 73% proficient
- Rural Retreat HighA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Grayson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Grayson 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 Grayson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Grayson County
Is Grayson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Grayson County ranks 2,089th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, low disaster risk, and heat safety, and lowest on walkability and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Grayson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,796. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $48,911 median income, cost of living beats 6% of counties.
Is Grayson County safe?
Grayson County is safer than 46% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $350 per resident a year.
Compare Grayson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Grayson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Grayson 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.
Grayson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Grayson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Grayson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Grayson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Grayson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Grayson 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.