Best PlacesLexington City, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lexington City, 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.
Lexington City ranks 174th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lexington City
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.
Lexington City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lexington City ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute12.7 minutes each way, better than 98% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of counties
Where Lexington City ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 10% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lexington City
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lexington City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,769, 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 Lexington City's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 Lexington City
Lexington City runs younger 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 Lexington City.
Who works in Lexington City, and how
Work in Lexington City centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 51%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 33%
Life in Lexington City
Lexington City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of counties and more parkland per resident than 76% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lexington City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lexington City growing, and who is moving in?
Lexington City has grown about 10% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Richmond, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lexington City go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lexington City, month by month
Lexington City sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 23° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 79° | 70° | 64° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Lexington City
The nearest airport, Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 118 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lexington City
Schools across Lexington City average an A+, better than 99% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Harrington Waddell ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Central ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lylburn Downing MiddleA+ · 82% proficient
- Maury River MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Rockbridge County HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lexington City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lexington City 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 Lexington City against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Lexington City
Is Lexington City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lexington City ranks 174th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, walkability, and an educated workforce, and lowest on empty homes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lexington City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $282,113. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $83,769 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is Lexington City safe?
Lexington City is safer than 11% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $564 per resident a year.
Compare Lexington City with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lexington City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lexington City 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.
Lexington City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lexington City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lexington City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lexington City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lexington City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lexington City 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.