Best PlacesPittsylvania County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pittsylvania County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Pittsylvania County ranks 1,619th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County
The parts of Pittsylvania 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.
Danville
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Ringgold
Commutes are shorter.
Chatham
It is noisier and tree cover is thinner.
Hurt
Prices have run up less, though health outcomes score lower.
Gretna
Homes cost less, though crime runs higher.
Scores across Pittsylvania County run from about the 8th to the 84th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Pittsylvania County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pittsylvania County ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 97% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of counties
- Cheap childcare$587 a month, better than 74% of counties
Where Pittsylvania County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 2% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pittsylvania County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pittsylvania County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,925, 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 Pittsylvania County's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Pittsylvania County
Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County.
Who works in Pittsylvania County, and how
Work in Pittsylvania County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Pittsylvania County
Pittsylvania County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Pittsylvania County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pittsylvania County growing, and who is moving in?
Pittsylvania County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lynchburg, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pittsylvania County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pittsylvania County, month by month
Pittsylvania County sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 39° | 27° |
| April | 75° | 59° | 45° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Pittsylvania County
The nearest airport, Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pittsylvania County
Schools across Pittsylvania County average an A, better than 97% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Gretna ElementaryA+ · 72% proficient
- Stony Mill ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Kentuck ElementaryA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dan River MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Tunstall MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Chatham MiddleA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Tunstall HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Chatham HighA · 77% proficient
- Dan River HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pittsylvania County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pittsylvania County suits
Common questions about living in Pittsylvania County
Is Pittsylvania County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pittsylvania County ranks 1,619th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and tree cover, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pittsylvania County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $167,938. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $56,925 median income, cost of living beats 23% of counties.
Is Pittsylvania County safe?
Pittsylvania County is safer than 54% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pittsylvania County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 27. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 25% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Pittsylvania County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Danville, Ringgold, and Chatham. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Pittsylvania County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pittsylvania County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pittsylvania 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.
Pittsylvania County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pittsylvania County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pittsylvania County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pittsylvania County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pittsylvania County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pittsylvania 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.