Best PlacesJava, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Java, 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.
Java ranks 39,809th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Java
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.
Java's strengths and weaknesses
Where Java ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of towns
- QuietBetter than 82% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of towns
- Cheap childcare$578 a month, better than 81% of towns
Where Java ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of towns
- Short commute41.8 minutes each way, better than only 4% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Java
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Java home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,409, 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 Java's effective rate of 0.33%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Java
Java runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Java.
Who works in Java, and how
Work in Java centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Java
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Java.
What the weather is like in Java, month by month
Java sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 39° | 27° |
| April | 75° | 59° | 45° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Java
The nearest airport, Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around Java
Schools across Java average an A−, better than 88% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Chatham ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Mount Airy ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Southside ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chatham MiddleA · 63% proficient
- Gretna MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Halifax County MiddleB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Chatham HighA · 77% proficient
- Gretna HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Halifax County HighB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Java school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Java 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 Java against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Java
Is Java a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Java ranks 39,809th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, good schools, and quiet, and lowest on cell coverage and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Java expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,783. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $50,409 median income, cost of living beats 15% of towns.
Is Java safe?
Java is safer than 32% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $363 per resident a year.
Compare Java with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Java. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Java 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.
Java detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Java: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Java: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Java: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Java: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Java 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.