Best PlacesRappahannock Academy, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rappahannock Academy, 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.
Rappahannock Academy ranks 4,492nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rappahannock Academy
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.
Rappahannock Academy's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rappahannock Academy ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
- Household income$117,305 median, better than 92% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of towns
Where Rappahannock Academy ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 21% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rappahannock Academy
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rappahannock Academy home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $117,305, 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 Rappahannock Academy's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 Rappahannock Academy
Rappahannock Academy runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rappahannock Academy.
Who works in Rappahannock Academy, and how
Work in Rappahannock Academy centers on public administration and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in Rappahannock Academy
The coast is about 25 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Rappahannock Academy, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Rappahannock Academy, month by month
Rappahannock Academy sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, 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 | 48° | 38° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Rappahannock Academy
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 46 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Rappahannock Academy
Schools across Rappahannock Academy average a B+, better than 76% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ferry Farm ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Sealston ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- King George ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- King George MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Donald B. Dixon-lyle R. Smith MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Caroline MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- King George HighA− · 65% proficient
- Stafford Senior HighA− · 64% proficient
- Caroline HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rappahannock Academy school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rappahannock Academy 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 Rappahannock Academy against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rappahannock Academy
Is Rappahannock Academy a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rappahannock Academy ranks 4,492nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, high incomes, and what local pay buys, and lowest on state finances and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rappahannock Academy expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $389,019. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $117,305 median income, cost of living beats 92% of towns.
Is Rappahannock Academy safe?
Rappahannock Academy is safer than 43% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $395 per resident a year.
Compare Rappahannock Academy with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rappahannock Academy. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rappahannock Academy 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.
Rappahannock Academy detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rappahannock Academy: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rappahannock Academy: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rappahannock Academy: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rappahannock Academy: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rappahannock Academy 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.