Best PlacesGum Tree, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gum Tree, 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.
Gum Tree ranks 2,387th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Gum Tree
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.
Gum Tree's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gum Tree ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 94% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of towns
Where Gum Tree ranks low
- Short commute39.9 minutes each way, better than only 5% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,015 a month, better than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Gum Tree
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gum Tree home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $113,260, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Gum Tree's effective rate of 0.63%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Gum Tree
Gum Tree runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gum Tree.
Who works in Gum Tree, and how
Work in Gum Tree centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Gum Tree
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Gum Tree.
What the weather is like in Gum Tree, month by month
Gum Tree sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 51, 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 | 51° | 39° | 28° |
| April | 74° | 59° | 46° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 75° | 61° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Gum Tree
Richmond International sits about 24 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 Gum Tree
Schools across Gum Tree average an A, better than 94% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Beaverdam ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- John M. Gandy ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Patrick Henry HighA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gum Tree school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gum Tree 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 Gum Tree against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Gum Tree
Is Gum Tree a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gum Tree ranks 2,387th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and an educated workforce, and lowest on long commutes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gum Tree expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $544,336. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $113,260 median income, cost of living beats 93% of towns.
Is Gum Tree safe?
Yes, Gum Tree is safer than 77% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
Compare Gum Tree with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gum Tree. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gum Tree 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.
Gum Tree detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gum Tree: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gum Tree: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gum Tree: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gum Tree: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gum Tree 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.