Best PlacesScott County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Scott County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Scott County ranks 2,444th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Scott 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.
Scott County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Scott County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 95% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of counties
- Cheap childcare$512 a month, better than 88% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of counties
Where Scott County ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of counties
- Household income$49,500 median, better than only 7% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Scott County
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Scott County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,500, 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 Scott County's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Scott County
Scott 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 Scott County.
Who works in Scott County, and how
Work in Scott County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Scott County
Scott County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Scott County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Scott County growing, and who is moving in?
Scott County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wise County, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Scott County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Scott County, month by month
Scott County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 37° | 27° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 75° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Scott County
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 137 miles away.
The best schools in and around Scott County
Schools across Scott County average an A, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Weber City ElementaryA+ · 82% proficient
- Coeburn PrimaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Union PrimaryA+ · 76% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gate City MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Union MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Lebanon MiddleA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- J.i. Burton HighA · 78% proficient
- Gate City HighA · 73% proficient
- Union HighA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Scott County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Scott 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 Scott County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Scott County suits
Common questions about living in Scott County
Is Scott County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Scott County ranks 2,444th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, good schools, and tree cover, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Scott County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,292. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $49,500 median income, cost of living beats 6% of counties.
Is Scott County safe?
Scott County is safer than 49% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $348 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Scott County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 27. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of counties.
Is Scott County good for families?
Schools beat 95% of counties, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $512 a month.
Compare Scott County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Scott County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Scott 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.
Scott County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Scott County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Scott County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Scott County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Scott County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Scott 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.