Best PlacesThelma, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Thelma, 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.
Thelma ranks 1,491st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Thelma
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.
Thelma's strengths and weaknesses
Where Thelma ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of towns
- Household income$141,250 median, better than 96% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 95% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of towns
Where Thelma ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Short commute35.1 minutes each way, better than only 14% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Thelma
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Thelma home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $141,250, 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 Thelma's effective rate of 0.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Thelma
Thelma's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Thelma.
Who works in Thelma, and how
Work in Thelma centers on construction and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Thelma
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Thelma.
What the weather is like in Thelma, month by month
Thelma sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 47, 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 | 47° | 37° | 27° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Thelma
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around Thelma
Schools across Thelma average an A, better than 95% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Moss-nuckols ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Trevilians ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Louisa County MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Louisa County HighA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Thelma school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Thelma 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 Thelma against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Thelma
Is Thelma a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Thelma ranks 1,491st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on biking and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Thelma expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $351,900. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $141,250 median income, cost of living beats 98% of towns.
Is Thelma safe?
Yes, Thelma is safer than 88% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $189 per resident a year.
Compare Thelma with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Thelma. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Thelma 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.
Thelma detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Thelma: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Thelma: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Thelma: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Thelma: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Thelma 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.