Best PlacesStephenson, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Stephenson, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Stephenson ranks 2,590th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Stephenson
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.
Stephenson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Stephenson ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of towns
Where Stephenson ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 20% of towns
- Short commute32.9 minutes each way, better than only 20% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 36% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 39% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Stephenson
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Stephenson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $106,286; 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 Stephenson'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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Stephenson
Stephenson runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Stephenson.
Who works in Stephenson, and how
Work in Stephenson centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Stephenson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Stephenson.
What the weather is like in Stephenson, month by month
Stephenson sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 33° | 26° |
| April | 65° | 54° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Stephenson
Washington Dulles International sits about 39 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Stephenson
Schools across Stephenson average a B+, better than 75% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Boyce ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- D.g. Cooley ElementaryB · 49% proficient
- Redbud Run ElementaryB · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Johnson-williams MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- James Wood MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Millbrook HighA · 74% proficient
- Clarke County HighA · 73% proficient
- James Wood HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Stephenson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Stephenson 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 Stephenson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Stephenson
Is Stephenson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Stephenson ranks 2,590th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, few empty homes, and population health, and lowest on state finances and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Stephenson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $428,426. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $106,286 median income, cost of living beats 91% of towns.
Is Stephenson safe?
Yes, Stephenson is safer than 78% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
Compare Stephenson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Stephenson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Stephenson 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.
Stephenson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Stephenson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Stephenson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Stephenson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Stephenson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Stephenson 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.