Best PlacesLaurel Hill, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Laurel Hill, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Laurel Hill ranks 134th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Laurel Hill
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.
Laurel Hill's strengths and weaknesses
Where Laurel Hill ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of towns
Where Laurel Hill ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,512 a month, better than only 3% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 5% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Laurel Hill
A household needs to earn about $170,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Laurel Hill home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $152,186; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Laurel Hill's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 Laurel Hill
Laurel Hill'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 Laurel Hill.
Who works in Laurel Hill, and how
Work in Laurel Hill centers on public administration and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 35%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Laurel Hill
The coast is about 9 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Laurel Hill, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Laurel Hill, month by month
Laurel Hill sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Laurel Hill
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 14 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Laurel Hill
Schools across Laurel Hill average an A, better than 95% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Laurel Hill ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Newington Forest ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Halley ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- South County MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
Top high schools
- South County HighA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Laurel Hill school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Laurel Hill 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 Laurel Hill against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Laurel Hill
Is Laurel Hill a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Laurel Hill ranks 134th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on biking, population health, and a strong job market, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Laurel Hill expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $637,853. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $152,186 median income, cost of living beats 92% of towns.
Is Laurel Hill safe?
Yes, Laurel Hill is safer than 92% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $177 per resident a year.
Compare Laurel Hill with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Laurel Hill. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Laurel Hill 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.
Laurel Hill detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Laurel Hill: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Laurel Hill: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Laurel Hill: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Laurel Hill: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Laurel Hill 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.