Best PlacesVirginia Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Virginia, 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.
Virginia ranks 10th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $109,159, wages outrun the cost of living, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are internet speeds, long commutes, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Virginia
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 Virginia
The counties of Virginia, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Fairfax County & Prince William County
Incomes run higher, big-city amenities are closer, and more adults hold degrees.
Loudoun County, Spotsylvania County & Stafford County
Fewer homes sit empty, though homes cost more.
Chesterfield County, Henrico County & Richmond City
Crime runs higher.
Augusta County, Rockingham County & Harrisonburg City
Biking is worse and local pay stretches less far.
James City County, York County & Hanover County
Tree cover is thicker, though disaster risk is higher.
Virginia Beach City, Chesapeake City & Norfolk City
Heat risk is higher and prices have run up more.
Roanoke City, Roanoke County & Montgomery County
Fewer households have young kids and health outcomes score lower.
Pittsylvania County, Washington County & Henry County
It is quieter, though streets are more car-dependent.
Mecklenburg County, Brunswick County & Lunenburg County
Schools score lower and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Virginia shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Virginia's strengths and weaknesses
Virginia ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys, good schools, and an educated workforce carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Internet speeds, long commutes, and noise hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Virginia ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of states
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of states
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of states
- Household income$109,159 median, better than 85% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of states
Where Virginia ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of states
- Short commute27.3 minutes each way, better than only 17% of states
- QuietBetter than only 19% of states
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 23% of states
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Virginia
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Virginia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $109,159; 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 Virginia's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Virginia
Virginia'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 Virginia.
Who works in Virginia, and how
Work in Virginia centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Virginia
Virginia has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of states and less parkland per resident than most states. Virginia has 112 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Virginia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Virginia, month by month
Virginia sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 47° |
The best schools in and around Virginia
Schools across Virginia average an A−, better than 93% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Poplar Tree ElementaryA+ · 92% proficient
- Kingston ElementaryA+ · 92% proficient
- St. Paul ElementaryA+ · 92% proficient
Top middle schools
- Old Donation SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Williamsburg MiddleA+ · 90% proficient
- Longfellow MiddleA+ · 90% proficient
Top high schools
- Thomas Jefferson High For Science And TechnologyA+ · 96% proficient
- Meridian HighA+ · 89% proficient
- Yorktown HighA+ · 88% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Virginia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Virginia 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 against the other 49 states.
Who Virginia suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of states and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Virginia
Is Virginia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Virginia ranks 10th of 50 states. It scores highest on what local pay buys, good schools, and an educated workforce, and lowest on internet speeds and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Virginia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $444,275. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $109,159 median income, cost of living beats 93% of states.
Is Virginia safe?
Yes, Virginia is safer than 61% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $349 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Virginia?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 25. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 24% of states.
What are the best areas in Virginia?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Fairfax County & Prince William County, Loudoun County, Spotsylvania County & Stafford County, and Chesterfield County, Henrico County & Richmond City. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Virginia good for families?
Schools beat 93% of states, crime safety beats 61%, and childcare runs $1,095 a month.
Is Virginia good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 16% of states. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Virginia with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Virginia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Virginia 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Virginia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Virginia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Virginia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Virginia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Virginia 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.
- 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.