Best PlacesVirginia-Highland, Atlanta, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Virginia-Highland, Atlanta, 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.
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta ranks 623rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta
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.
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta's strengths and weaknesses
Where Virginia-Highland, Atlanta ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Virginia-Highland, Atlanta ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 31% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 31% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta
A household needs to earn about $236,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Virginia-Highland, Atlanta home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $141,363, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Virginia-Highland, Atlanta's effective rate of 1.14%, 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 Virginia-Highland, Atlanta
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Virginia-Highland, Atlanta.
Who works in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta, and how
Work in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 53%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Virginia-Highland, Atlanta and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta, month by month
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Virginia-Highland, Atlanta
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 11 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 51.5 million passengers in 2025, with 278 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Virginia-Highland, Atlanta
Schools across Virginia-Highland, Atlanta average a C, better than 39% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Morningside Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Museum School Avondale EstatesB · 46% proficient
- Kipp Ways Primary Charter SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top middle schools
- David T Howard Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- The Champion Middle Theme SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Midtown High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Hillside Conant SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Elizabeth Andrews High SchoolF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Virginia-Highland, Atlanta school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta 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 Virginia-Highland, Atlanta against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta
Is Virginia-Highland, Atlanta a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Virginia-Highland, Atlanta ranks 623rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, population health, and what local pay buys, and lowest on the weather and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Virginia-Highland, Atlanta expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $861,703. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $141,363 median income, cost of living beats 95% of neighborhoods.
Is Virginia-Highland, Atlanta safe?
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta is safer than 31% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $535 per resident a year.
Compare Virginia-Highland, Atlanta with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Virginia-Highland, Atlanta. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta 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.
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Virginia-Highland, Atlanta: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Virginia-Highland, Atlanta: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Virginia-Highland, Atlanta: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Virginia-Highland, Atlanta 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.