Best PlacesHenrico County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Henrico County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Henrico County ranks 134th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $106,529, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, the weather, and state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Henrico 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.
The best areas in Henrico County
The parts of Henrico County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Short Pump, Richmond & Wyndham
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Tuckahoe
Schools score higher, though fewer households have young kids.
Glen Allen & Laurel
Prices have run up less, though it is noisier.
Lakeside
Crime runs higher and fewer residents vote.
Montrose Heights, Sandston & Highland Springs
Homes cost less, though health outcomes score lower.
Henrico County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 6% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Henrico County's strengths and weaknesses
Henrico County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. An educated workforce and high incomes follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. The weather and state finances also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Henrico County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of counties
- Household income$106,529 median, better than 94% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of counties
Where Henrico County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,030 a month, better than only 15% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Henrico County
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Henrico County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $106,529, 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 Henrico County's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Henrico County
Henrico County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Henrico County.
Who works in Henrico County, and how
Work in Henrico 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 74%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Henrico County
Henrico County has less parkland per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 91% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Henrico County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Henrico County growing, and who is moving in?
Henrico County has grown about 5% 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 Henrico County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Henrico County, month by month
Henrico County sees roughly 60 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 Henrico County
Richmond International sits about 12 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 Henrico County
Schools across Henrico County average a B+, better than 85% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Gayton ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
- Twin Hickory ElementaryA+ · 87% proficient
- Short Pump ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chickahominy MiddleA+ · 85% proficient
- Bell Creek MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Tuckahoe MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
Top high schools
- Atlee HighA+ · 88% proficient
- Richmond Community HighA+ · 87% proficient
- Deep Run HighA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Henrico County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Henrico 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 Henrico County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Henrico County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Henrico County
Is Henrico County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Henrico County ranks 134th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, an educated workforce, and high incomes, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Henrico County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $395,743. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $106,529 median income, cost of living beats 98% of counties.
Is Henrico County safe?
Henrico County is safer than 39% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $391 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Henrico County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 28. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Henrico County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Short Pump, Richmond & Wyndham, Tuckahoe, and Glen Allen & Laurel. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Henrico County good for families?
Schools beat 85% of counties, crime safety beats 39%, and childcare runs $1,030 a month.
Is Henrico County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 49% of counties. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare Henrico County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Henrico County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Henrico 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.
Henrico County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Henrico County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Henrico County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Henrico County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Henrico County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Henrico 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.