Best PlacesRockingham County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Rockingham 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.
Rockingham County ranks 328th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rockingham 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 Rockingham County
The parts of Rockingham 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.
Massanetta Springs & Grottoes
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Bridgewater
Tree cover is thinner and it is noisier.
Dayton
Fewer homes sit empty and more households have young kids.
Harrisonburg
Biking is better, though crime runs higher.
Broadway
Prices have run up less, though advertised internet is slower.
Elkton
Timberville
Homes cost less, though health outcomes score lower.
Rockingham County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 9% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Rockingham County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rockingham County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 86% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of counties
Where Rockingham County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 16% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 33% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 79 pleasant days a year, better than only 37% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 38% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Rockingham County
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockingham County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $80,425; 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 Rockingham County's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rockingham County
Rockingham County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rockingham County.
Who works in Rockingham County, and how
Work in Rockingham County centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Rockingham County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rockingham County.
Is Rockingham County growing, and who is moving in?
Rockingham County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Harrisonburg, VA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Rockingham County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Rockingham County, month by month
Rockingham County sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Rockingham County
The nearest airport, Shenandoah Valley Regional, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rockingham County
Schools across Rockingham County average an A−, better than 90% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Peak View ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- John W. Wayland ElementaryA− · 55% proficient
- Mcgaheysville ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Montevideo MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Wilbur S. Pence MiddleA− · 56% proficient
- J. Frank Hillyard MiddleA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Turner Ashby HighA · 77% proficient
- Spotswood HighA · 74% proficient
- Broadway HighA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockingham County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockingham 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 Rockingham County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Rockingham County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Rockingham County
Is Rockingham County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockingham County ranks 328th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, good schools, and low crime, 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 Rockingham County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $320,199. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $80,425 median income, cost of living beats 74% of counties.
Is Rockingham County safe?
Yes, Rockingham County is safer than 89% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $252 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Rockingham County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 24. That works out to about 79 pleasant days a year, more than 37% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Rockingham County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Massanetta Springs & Grottoes, Bridgewater, and Dayton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Rockingham County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockingham County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockingham 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.
Rockingham County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockingham County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockingham County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockingham County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockingham County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockingham 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.