Best PlacesWestmoreland County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Westmoreland County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Westmoreland County ranks 2,443rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Westmoreland County
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.
Westmoreland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Westmoreland County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 91% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of counties
- QuietBetter than 78% of counties
Where Westmoreland County ranks low
- Short commute42.7 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Westmoreland County
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Westmoreland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $64,117; 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 Westmoreland County'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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County runs older than the country, 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 Westmoreland County.
Who works in Westmoreland County, and how
Work in Westmoreland County centers on public administration and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of counties. The coast is about 6 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Westmoreland County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Westmoreland County growing, and who is moving in?
Westmoreland County has grown about 10% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Washington, DC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Westmoreland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Westmoreland County, month by month
Westmoreland County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Westmoreland County
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 49 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Westmoreland County
Schools across Westmoreland County average a B, better than 72% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Northumberland ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
- Colonial Beach ElementaryB · 46% proficient
- Cople ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northumberland MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Montross MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Colonial Beach HighA− · 62% proficient
- Northumberland HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Westmoreland HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Westmoreland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Westmoreland County 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 Westmoreland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Westmoreland County
Is Westmoreland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Westmoreland County ranks 2,443rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, a strong job market, and tree cover, and lowest on long commutes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Westmoreland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $278,568. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $64,117 median income, cost of living beats 30% of counties.
Is Westmoreland County safe?
Westmoreland County is safer than 17% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $487 per resident a year.
Compare Westmoreland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Westmoreland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Westmoreland County 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.
Westmoreland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Westmoreland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Westmoreland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Westmoreland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Westmoreland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Westmoreland County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.