Best PlacesLoudoun County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Loudoun 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.
Loudoun County ranks 1st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index, the highest of any. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $186,330, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, noise, and the weather.
The best neighborhoods in Loudoun 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 Loudoun County
The parts of Loudoun 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.
Broadlands
More adults hold degrees, tree cover is thicker, and local pay stretches further.
Brambleton, South Riding & Stone Ridge
More households have young kids and biking is better.
Aldie
It is quieter, though homes cost more.
Lansdowne
More residents vote, though more homes sit empty.
Ashburn & Sterling
Scores close to Lansdowne, except that schools score lower here.
Purcellville, Lovettsville & Round Hill
Prices have run up more and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Leesburg
Crime runs higher and incomes run lower.
Scores across Loudoun County run from about the 43rd to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Loudoun County's strengths and weaknesses
Loudoun County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Few empty homes and what local pay buys follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and the weather also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Loudoun County ranks high
- Household income$186,330 median, better than 99% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of counties
Where Loudoun County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,632 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 9% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Short commute30.1 minutes each way, better than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Loudoun County
A household needs to earn about $198,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Loudoun County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $186,330; 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 Loudoun County's effective rate of 0.80%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Loudoun County
Loudoun County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Loudoun County.
Who works in Loudoun County, and how
Work in Loudoun County centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Loudoun County
Loudoun County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 76% of counties. The coast is about 40 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Loudoun County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Loudoun County growing, and who is moving in?
Loudoun County has grown about 22% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Washington, DC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Loudoun County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Loudoun County, month by month
Loudoun County sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Loudoun County
Washington Dulles International sits about 7 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Loudoun County
Schools across Loudoun County average an A, better than 98% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Madison's Trust ElementaryA+ · 89% proficient
- Lincoln ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
- Waxpool ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brambleton MiddleA+ · 85% proficient
- Stone Hill MiddleA+ · 82% proficient
- Eagle Ridge MiddleA+ · 81% proficient
Top high schools
- Riverside HighA+ · 85% proficient
- Lightridge HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Freedom HighA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Loudoun County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Loudoun 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 Loudoun County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Loudoun County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties and 31% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Loudoun County
Is Loudoun County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Loudoun County ranks 1st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on high incomes, few empty homes, and what local pay buys, 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 Loudoun County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $758,206. The overall cost of living runs about 23% above the national average. Set against a $186,330 median income, cost of living beats 100% of counties.
Is Loudoun County safe?
Yes, Loudoun County is safer than 100% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $178 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Loudoun County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 29. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Loudoun County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Broadlands, Brambleton, South Riding & Stone Ridge, and Aldie. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Loudoun County good for families?
Schools beat 98% of counties, crime safety beats 100%, and childcare runs $1,632 a month.
Is Loudoun County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 51% of counties. About 31% of workers already work from home.
Compare Loudoun County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Loudoun County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Loudoun 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.
Loudoun County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Loudoun County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Loudoun County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Loudoun County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Loudoun County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Loudoun 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.