Best PlacesRichmond County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Richmond 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.
Richmond County ranks 1,970th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Richmond 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.
Richmond County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Richmond County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 89% of counties
- QuietBetter than 89% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 76% of counties
Where Richmond County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of counties
- Short commute31.5 minutes each way, better than only 11% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 11% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Richmond County
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Richmond County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,073, 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 Richmond 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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Richmond County
Richmond 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 Richmond County.
Who works in Richmond County, and how
Work in Richmond County centers on manufacturing and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Richmond County
Richmond County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Richmond County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Richmond County growing, and who is moving in?
Richmond County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Washington, DC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Richmond County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Richmond County, month by month
Richmond County sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Richmond County
Richmond International sits about 45 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 Richmond County
Schools across Richmond County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Richmond County ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Rappahannock HighB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Richmond County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Richmond 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 Richmond County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Richmond County
Is Richmond County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Richmond County ranks 1,970th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, cheap car insurance, and quiet, and lowest on disaster risk and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Richmond County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $237,660. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $69,073 median income, cost of living beats 36% of counties.
Is Richmond County safe?
Richmond County is safer than 42% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $361 per resident a year.
Compare Richmond County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Richmond County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Richmond 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.
Richmond County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Richmond County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Richmond County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Richmond County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Richmond County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Richmond 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.