Best PlacesRockbridge County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Rockbridge County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Rockbridge County ranks 1,214th 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 Rockbridge 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.
Rockbridge County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rockbridge County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 87% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of counties
Where Rockbridge County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 17% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Rockbridge County
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockbridge County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $66,654; 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 Rockbridge County's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rockbridge County
Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County.
Who works in Rockbridge County, and how
Work in Rockbridge County centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Rockbridge County
Rockbridge County has more late-night spots per resident than 93% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Rockbridge County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Rockbridge County growing, and who is moving in?
Rockbridge County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Buena Vista City, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Rockbridge County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Rockbridge County, month by month
Rockbridge County sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 23° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 79° | 70° | 64° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Rockbridge County
The nearest airport, Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rockbridge County
Schools across Rockbridge County average a B+, better than 87% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sharon ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Mountain View ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Central ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Parry Mccluer MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Nelson MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Maury River MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Rockbridge County HighA · 68% proficient
- Alleghany HighA− · 67% proficient
- Nelson County HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockbridge County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Rockbridge County suits
Common questions about living in Rockbridge County
Is Rockbridge County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockbridge County ranks 1,214th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, cheap car insurance, and tree cover, and lowest on walkability and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rockbridge County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $263,533. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $66,654 median income, cost of living beats 41% of counties.
Is Rockbridge County safe?
Yes, Rockbridge County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $271 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Rockbridge County?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 23. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 39% of counties.
Is Rockbridge County good for families?
Schools beat 87% of counties, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $750 a month.
Compare Rockbridge County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockbridge County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockbridge 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.
Rockbridge County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockbridge County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockbridge County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockbridge County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockbridge County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockbridge 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.