Best PlacesWaynesboro, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Waynesboro, 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.
Waynesboro ranks 1,240th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Waynesboro
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.
Waynesboro's strengths and weaknesses
Where Waynesboro ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of cities
- Cheap childcare$813 a month, better than 80% of cities
- Short commute21.9 minutes each way, better than 78% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 75% of cities
Where Waynesboro ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 16% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 19% of cities
- Household income$70,751 median, better than only 23% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 25% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 25% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Waynesboro
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Waynesboro home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,751, 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 Waynesboro's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Waynesboro
Waynesboro'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 Waynesboro.
Who works in Waynesboro, and how
Work in Waynesboro centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Waynesboro
Waynesboro has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of cities and more parkland per resident than 86% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Waynesboro and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Waynesboro, month by month
Waynesboro sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Waynesboro
The nearest airport, Shenandoah Valley Regional, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 95 miles away.
The best schools in and around Waynesboro
Schools across Waynesboro average a B, better than 64% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Brownsville ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Cassell ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Wilson ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Joseph T. Henley MiddleA+ · 84% proficient
- Stuarts Draft MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Wilson MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Western Albemarle HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Wilson Memorial HighA · 75% proficient
- Stuarts Draft HighA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Waynesboro school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Waynesboro 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 Waynesboro against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Waynesboro suits
Common questions about living in Waynesboro
Is Waynesboro a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Waynesboro ranks 1,240th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low property taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on health outcomes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Waynesboro expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $267,943. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $70,751 median income, cost of living beats 33% of cities.
Is Waynesboro safe?
Waynesboro is safer than 46% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $353 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Waynesboro?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 24. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of cities.
Is Waynesboro good for families?
Schools beat 64% of cities, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $813 a month.
Compare Waynesboro with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Waynesboro. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Waynesboro 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.
Waynesboro detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Waynesboro: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Waynesboro: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Waynesboro: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Waynesboro: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Waynesboro 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.