Best PlacesHead Waters, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Head Waters, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Head Waters ranks 24,503rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Head Waters
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.
Head Waters' strengths and weaknesses
Where Head Waters ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 84% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 84% of towns
Where Head Waters ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Short commute36.8 minutes each way, better than only 10% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Head Waters
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Head Waters home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,815, 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 Head Waters' effective rate of 0.59%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Head Waters
Head Waters 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 Head Waters.
Who works in Head Waters, and how
Work in Head Waters 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 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Head Waters
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Head Waters.
What the weather is like in Head Waters, month by month
Head Waters sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Head Waters
The nearest airport, Shenandoah Valley Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around Head Waters
Schools across Head Waters average a B+, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Highland ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Churchville ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Craigsville ElementaryC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Beverley Manor MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Wilbur S. Pence MiddleA− · 56% proficient
- Shelburne MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Buffalo Gap HighA · 73% proficient
- Highland HighA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Head Waters school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Head Waters 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 Head Waters against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Head Waters
Is Head Waters a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Head Waters ranks 24,503rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Head Waters expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $219,558. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $72,815 median income, cost of living beats 66% of towns.
Is Head Waters safe?
Head Waters is safer than 30% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $384 per resident a year.
Compare Head Waters with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Head Waters. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Head Waters 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.
Head Waters detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Head Waters: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Head Waters: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Head Waters: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Head Waters: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Head Waters 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.