Best PlacesMiddlesex County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Middlesex County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Middlesex County ranks 1,451st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Middlesex 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.
Middlesex County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Middlesex County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of counties
- QuietBetter than 87% of counties
Where Middlesex County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 4% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Short commute34.0 minutes each way, better than only 5% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Middlesex County
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Middlesex County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $78,214; 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 Middlesex County's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 Middlesex County
Middlesex County runs older 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 Middlesex County.
Who works in Middlesex County, and how
Work in Middlesex County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Middlesex County
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Middlesex County, which the map shows.
Is Middlesex County growing, and who is moving in?
Middlesex County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Richmond, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Middlesex County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Middlesex County, month by month
Middlesex County sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 39° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Middlesex County
The nearest airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around Middlesex County
Schools across Middlesex County average a B+, better than 85% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Middlesex ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Clare Walker MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Middlesex HighA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Middlesex County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Middlesex 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 Middlesex County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Middlesex County
Is Middlesex County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Middlesex County ranks 1,451st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on walkability and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Middlesex County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $345,304. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $78,214 median income, cost of living beats 64% of counties.
Is Middlesex County safe?
Yes, Middlesex County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $317 per resident a year.
Compare Middlesex County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Middlesex County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Middlesex 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.
Middlesex County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Middlesex County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Middlesex County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Middlesex County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Middlesex County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Middlesex 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.