Best PlacesArcola, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Arcola area, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Arcola ranks 3rd of 50333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on population health and lowest on childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Arcola
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.
Arcola's strengths and weaknesses
Where Arcola ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 100% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 100% of towns
- Household income$203,815 median, better than 99% of towns
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of towns
Where Arcola ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,632 a month, better than only 1% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 12% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of towns
- Short commute32.8 minutes each way, better than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Arcola
A household needs to earn about $239,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Arcola home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $203,815, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment and a 6.8% 30-year fixed rate. The rate updates weekly from Freddie Mac; property tax uses Arcola's effective rate against the median home value.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first ten 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 Arcola
Arcola runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Arcola.
Who works in Arcola, and how
Work in Arcola centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 40%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Arcola
The coast is about 34 minutes away. The map and measures below show how they vary by area.
What the weather is like in Arcola, month by month
Arcola sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 25. Spring and fall carry most of the comfortable stretch.
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° |
Flying in and out of Arcola
Washington Dulles International sits about 3 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Arcola
Schools across Arcola average an A+, better than 98% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Rosa Lee Carter ElementaryA+ · 87% proficient
- Creighton's Corner ElementaryA+ · 81% proficient
- Liberty ElementaryA+ · 77% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stone Hill MiddleA+ · 82% proficient
- Mercer MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
Top high schools
- John Champe HighA+ · 81% proficient
- Briar Woods HighA+ · 80% proficient
- Broad Run HighA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Arcola school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Arcola 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 Arcola against the other 50332 towns.
Common questions about living in Arcola
Is Arcola a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Arcola ranks 3rd of 50333 towns. It scores highest on population health, low crime, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Arcola expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $896,668. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $203,815 median income, cost of living beats 99% of towns.
Is Arcola safe?
Yes, Arcola is safer than 100% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $102 per resident a year.
Compare Arcola with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Arcola. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Arcola 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.
Arcola detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Arcola: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Arcola: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Arcola: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Arcola: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Arcola 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.