Best PlacesGreene County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Greene 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.
Greene County ranks 279th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Greene 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.
Greene County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Greene County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of counties
Where Greene County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of counties
- Short commute32.3 minutes each way, better than only 9% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 21% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Greene County
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Greene County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $96,136, 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 Greene County's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Greene County
Greene County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Greene County.
Who works in Greene County, and how
Work in Greene County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Greene County
Greene County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Greene County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Greene County growing, and who is moving in?
Greene County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Charlottesville, VA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Greene County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Greene County, month by month
Greene County sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 39° | 28° |
| April | 74° | 60° | 46° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 61° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Greene County
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Greene County
Schools across Greene County average a B+, better than 85% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ruckersville ElementaryA− · 55% proficient
- Waverly Yowell ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Nathanael Greene ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- William Monroe MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- William H. Wetsel MiddleC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- William Monroe HighA− · 62% proficient
- Madison County HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Greene County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Greene 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 Greene County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Greene County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Greene County
Is Greene County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Greene County ranks 279th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, a strong job market, and civic engagement, and lowest on walkability and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Greene County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $324,402. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $96,136 median income, cost of living beats 90% of counties.
Is Greene County safe?
Yes, Greene County is safer than 94% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $233 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Greene County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 28. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 24% of counties.
Is Greene County good for families?
Schools beat 85% of counties, crime safety beats 94%, and childcare runs $722 a month.
Compare Greene County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Greene County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Greene 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.
Greene County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Greene County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Greene County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Greene County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Greene County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Greene 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.