Best PlacesSwansboro, Richmond, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Swansboro, Richmond, 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.
Swansboro, Richmond ranks 4,030th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Swansboro, Richmond
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.
Swansboro, Richmond's strengths and weaknesses
Where Swansboro, Richmond ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 72% of neighborhoods
Where Swansboro, Richmond ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Swansboro, Richmond
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Swansboro, Richmond home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $64,740; 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 Swansboro, Richmond's effective rate of 0.82%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Swansboro, Richmond
Swansboro, Richmond runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Swansboro, Richmond.
Who works in Swansboro, Richmond, and how
Work in Swansboro, Richmond centers on hospitality & food and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Swansboro, Richmond
Swansboro, Richmond has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Swansboro, Richmond and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Swansboro, Richmond, month by month
Swansboro, Richmond sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 39° | 28° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 46° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 76° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Swansboro, Richmond
Richmond International sits about 8 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.5 million passengers in 2025, with 72 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Swansboro, Richmond
Schools across Swansboro, Richmond average a D+, better than 19% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Swansboro ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Blackwell ElementaryD+ · 24% proficient
- Westover Hills ElementaryD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- River City MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Thomas C. Boushall MiddleD− · 17% proficient
- Martin Luther King Jr. MiddleF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- Armstrong HighC− · 27% proficient
- George Wythe HighD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Swansboro, Richmond school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Swansboro, Richmond 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 Swansboro, Richmond against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Swansboro, Richmond
Is Swansboro, Richmond a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Swansboro, Richmond ranks 4,030th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, cell coverage, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on an overheated housing market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Swansboro, Richmond expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,497. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $64,740 median income, cost of living beats 45% of neighborhoods.
Is Swansboro, Richmond safe?
Swansboro, Richmond is safer than 13% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $866 per resident a year.
Compare Swansboro, Richmond with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Swansboro, Richmond. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Swansboro, Richmond 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.
Swansboro, Richmond detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Swansboro, Richmond: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Swansboro, Richmond: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Swansboro, Richmond: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Swansboro, Richmond: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Swansboro, Richmond 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.