Best PlacesSimpsons, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Simpsons, 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.
Simpsons ranks 14,902nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Simpsons
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.
Simpsons' strengths and weaknesses
Where Simpsons ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of towns
Where Simpsons ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- Short commute33.3 minutes each way, better than only 19% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 30% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 33% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Simpsons
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Simpsons home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,996, 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 Simpsons' effective rate of 0.56%, 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 Simpsons
Simpsons 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 Simpsons.
Who works in Simpsons, and how
Work in Simpsons centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Simpsons
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Simpsons.
What the weather is like in Simpsons, month by month
Simpsons sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Simpsons
The nearest airport, Roanoke/Blacksburg Regional (Woodrum Field), is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 111 miles away.
The best schools in and around Simpsons
Schools across Simpsons average a B+, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Floyd ElementaryA− · 55% proficient
- Check ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Floyd County HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Simpsons school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Simpsons 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 Simpsons against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Simpsons
Is Simpsons a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Simpsons ranks 14,902nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, low disaster risk, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on state finances and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Simpsons expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,551. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $74,996 median income, cost of living beats 54% of towns.
Is Simpsons safe?
Yes, Simpsons is safer than 76% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare Simpsons with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Simpsons. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Simpsons 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.
Simpsons detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Simpsons: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Simpsons: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Simpsons: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Simpsons: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Simpsons 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.