Best PlacesIsle of Wight County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Isle of Wight 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.
Isle of Wight County ranks 229th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Isle of Wight 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 Isle of Wight County
The parts of Isle of Wight 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.
Smithfield
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Carrollton
More households have young kids and fewer homes sit empty.
Windsor
Carrsville
Homes cost less, though crime runs higher.
Scores across Isle of Wight County run from about the 23rd to the 96th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Isle of Wight County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Isle of Wight County ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 96% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of counties
- Household income$99,220 median, better than 92% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of counties
Where Isle of Wight County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Short commute29.5 minutes each way, better than only 18% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 20% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 71 pleasant days a year, better than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Isle of Wight County
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Isle of Wight County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $99,220, 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 Isle of Wight County's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Isle of Wight County
Isle of Wight County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Isle of Wight County.
Who works in Isle of Wight County, and how
Work in Isle of Wight County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Isle of Wight County
Isle of Wight County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 74% of counties. The coast is about 30 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Isle of Wight County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Isle of Wight County growing, and who is moving in?
Isle of Wight County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Virginia Beach, VA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Isle of Wight County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Isle of Wight County, month by month
Isle of Wight County sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 41° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Isle of Wight County
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 55 miles away.
The best schools in and around Isle of Wight County
Schools across Isle of Wight County average an A, better than 96% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Carrsville ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Windsor ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Carrollton ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smithfield MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Georgie D. Tyler MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Westside ElementaryA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Windsor HighA · 72% proficient
- Smithfield HighA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Isle of Wight County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Isle of Wight 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 Isle of Wight County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Isle of Wight County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Isle of Wight County
Is Isle of Wight County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Isle of Wight County ranks 229th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, what local pay buys, and civic engagement, and lowest on state finances and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Isle of Wight County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $360,923. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $99,220 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Isle of Wight County safe?
Yes, Isle of Wight County is safer than 72% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $303 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Isle of Wight County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 32. That works out to about 71 pleasant days a year, more than 22% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Isle of Wight County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Smithfield, Carrollton, and Windsor. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Isle of Wight County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Isle of Wight County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Isle of Wight 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.
Isle of Wight County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Isle of Wight County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Isle of Wight County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Isle of Wight County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Isle of Wight County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Isle of Wight 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.