Best PlacesIndependence, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Independence, 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.
Independence ranks 31,442nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Independence
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.
Independence's strengths and weaknesses
Where Independence ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 95% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- Cheap childcare$512 a month, better than 91% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of towns
Where Independence ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Household income$44,128 median, better than only 7% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Independence
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Independence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,128, 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 Independence's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 Independence
Independence 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 Independence.
Who works in Independence, and how
Work in Independence centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Independence
Independence has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Independence and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Independence, month by month
Independence sees roughly 101 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 Independence
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 71 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around Independence
Schools across Independence average an A, better than 95% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Grayson HighlandsA+ · 78% proficient
- Independence ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Fries ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Independence MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
- Marion MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Grayson County HighA · 73% proficient
- Marion Senior HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Independence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Independence 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 Independence against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Independence
Is Independence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Independence ranks 31,442nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on good schools, low disaster risk, and heat safety, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Independence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,100. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $44,128 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Independence safe?
Independence is safer than 31% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $392 per resident a year.
Compare Independence with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Independence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Independence 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.
Independence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Independence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Independence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Independence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Independence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Independence 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.