Best PlacesPowhatan County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Powhatan County, 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.
Powhatan County ranks 97th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Powhatan 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.
Powhatan County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Powhatan County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 95% of counties
Where Powhatan County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 8% of counties
- Short commute32.6 minutes each way, better than only 8% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Powhatan County
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Powhatan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $105,085, 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 Powhatan County's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 Powhatan County
Powhatan County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Powhatan County.
Who works in Powhatan County, and how
Work in Powhatan County centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Powhatan County
Powhatan County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Powhatan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Powhatan County growing, and who is moving in?
Powhatan County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Richmond, VA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Powhatan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Powhatan County, month by month
Powhatan County sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 51, 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 | 51° | 38° | 27° |
| April | 72° | 58° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Powhatan County
Richmond International sits about 31 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.5 million passengers in 2025, with 72 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Powhatan County
Schools across Powhatan County average an A, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bettie Weaver ElementaryA+ · 82% proficient
- Powhatan ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Old Hundred ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Midlothian MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Robious MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Pocahontas MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Midlothian HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Cosby HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Powhatan HighA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Powhatan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Powhatan 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 Powhatan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Powhatan County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Powhatan County
Is Powhatan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Powhatan County ranks 97th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, low crime, and health care access, 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 Powhatan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $413,185. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $105,085 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Powhatan County safe?
Yes, Powhatan County is safer than 97% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $203 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Powhatan County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 27. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of counties.
Is Powhatan County good for families?
Schools beat 95% of counties, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $856 a month.
Compare Powhatan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Powhatan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Powhatan 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.
Powhatan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Powhatan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Powhatan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Powhatan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Powhatan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Powhatan 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.