Best PlacesMercury Central, Hampton, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mercury Central, Hampton, 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.
Mercury Central, Hampton ranks 3,825th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Mercury Central, Hampton
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.
Mercury Central, Hampton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mercury Central, Hampton ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$853 a month, better than 81% of neighborhoods
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 71% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 65% of neighborhoods
Where Mercury Central, Hampton ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Mercury Central, Hampton
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mercury Central, Hampton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $67,406; 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 Mercury Central, Hampton's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Mercury Central, Hampton
Mercury Central, Hampton 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 Mercury Central, Hampton.
Who works in Mercury Central, Hampton, and how
Work in Mercury Central, Hampton centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Mercury Central, Hampton
Mercury Central, Hampton has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Mercury Central, Hampton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Mercury Central, Hampton, month by month
Mercury Central, Hampton sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| April | 72° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 90° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Mercury Central, Hampton
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mercury Central, Hampton
Schools across Mercury Central, Hampton average an A−, better than 89% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- William Mason Cooper ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Paul Burbank ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thomas Eaton MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Kecoughtan HighA · 71% proficient
- Bethel HighA · 68% proficient
- Hampton HighA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mercury Central, Hampton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mercury Central, Hampton 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 Mercury Central, Hampton against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Mercury Central, Hampton
Is Mercury Central, Hampton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mercury Central, Hampton ranks 3,825th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, good schools, and affordable childcare, and lowest on biking and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mercury Central, Hampton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $268,443. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $67,406 median income, cost of living beats 53% of neighborhoods.
Is Mercury Central, Hampton safe?
Mercury Central, Hampton is safer than 20% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $743 per resident a year.
Compare Mercury Central, Hampton with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mercury Central, Hampton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mercury Central, Hampton 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.
Mercury Central, Hampton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mercury Central, Hampton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mercury Central, Hampton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mercury Central, Hampton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mercury Central, Hampton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mercury Central, Hampton 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.