Best PlacesSpotsylvania County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Spotsylvania County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Spotsylvania County ranks 126th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $118,275, wages outrun the cost of living, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are long commutes, state finances, and walkability.
The best neighborhoods in Spotsylvania 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 Spotsylvania County
The parts of Spotsylvania 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.
Spotsylvania
Prices have run up less, local pay stretches further, and crime runs lower.
Fredericksburg
It is noisier and tree cover is thinner.
Partlow
More homes sit empty and fewer households have young kids.
Scores across Spotsylvania County run from about the 15th to the 97th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Spotsylvania County's strengths and weaknesses
Spotsylvania County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes, few empty homes, and big-city access carry most of that.
The one real hole is long commutes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and walkability also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Spotsylvania County ranks high
- Household income$118,275 median, better than 97% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of counties
Where Spotsylvania County ranks low
- Short commute37.7 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 18% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of counties
- Cheap childcare$945 a month, better than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Spotsylvania County
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Spotsylvania County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $118,275, 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 Spotsylvania County's 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 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 Spotsylvania County
Spotsylvania County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Spotsylvania County.
Who works in Spotsylvania County, and how
Work in Spotsylvania County centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Spotsylvania County
Spotsylvania County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 30 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Spotsylvania County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Spotsylvania County growing, and who is moving in?
Spotsylvania County has grown about 18% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Washington, DC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Spotsylvania County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Spotsylvania County, month by month
Spotsylvania County sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Spotsylvania County
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around Spotsylvania County
Schools across Spotsylvania County average an A−, better than 93% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Chancellor ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Brock Road ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Berkeley ElementaryA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ni River MiddleA+ · 71% proficient
- Liberty MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Louisa County MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Louisa County HighA+ · 85% proficient
- Mountain View HighA · 77% proficient
- Patrick Henry HighA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Spotsylvania County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Spotsylvania 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 Spotsylvania County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Spotsylvania County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Spotsylvania County
Is Spotsylvania County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Spotsylvania County ranks 126th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on high incomes, few empty homes, and big-city access, and lowest on long commutes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Spotsylvania County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $411,297. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $118,275 median income, cost of living beats 92% of counties.
Is Spotsylvania County safe?
Yes, Spotsylvania County is safer than 93% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $235 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Spotsylvania County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 29. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 18% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Spotsylvania County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, and Partlow. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Spotsylvania County good for families?
Schools beat 93% of counties, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $945 a month.
Is Spotsylvania County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 58% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare Spotsylvania County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Spotsylvania County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Spotsylvania 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.
Spotsylvania County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Spotsylvania County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Spotsylvania County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Spotsylvania County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Spotsylvania County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Spotsylvania 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.