Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Virginia a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Virginia.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Old Dominion based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Virginia, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 132 counties in the state.
Goochland County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Virginia. And you should avoid Lee County if you can — at least according to the data.
$118,931 median income · 1.7% unemployment
$123,314 median income · 2.3% unemployment
$120,972 median income · 3.2% unemployment
$143,262 median income · 5.0% unemployment
$112,805 median income · 2.7% unemployment
$142,114 median income · 3.3% unemployment
$117,111 median income · 2.7% unemployment
$181,765 median income · 3.3% unemployment
$109,956 median income · 4.2% unemployment
$116,884 median income · 3.7% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Virginia’s statewide median.
Virginia statewide median: $93,170
Virginia statewide median: $412,467
Virginia statewide median: 4.3%
On the map
Where Virginia’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Virginia county is the best?
To give you the best county in Virginia, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in Virginia across each of the criteria from one to 132, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Virginia.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Old Dominion.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in Virginia.
Read on to see why Goochland County is the best county, while Lee County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Virginia.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Virginia
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goochland County | 26,410 | $118,931 | $581,702 |
| 2 | New Kent County | 25,105 | $123,314 | $439,187 |
| 3 | Poquoson city | 12,639 | $120,972 | $430,312 |
| 4 | Falls Church city | 14,710 | $143,262 | $1,134,741 |
| 5 | Hanover County | 112,879 | $112,805 | $454,934 |
| 6 | Arlington County | 236,254 | $142,114 | $824,388 |
| 7 | Clarke County | 15,216 | $117,111 | $568,753 |
| 8 | Loudoun County | 432,998 | $181,765 | $805,711 |
| 9 | York County | 71,005 | $109,956 | $461,496 |
| 10 | King George County | 27,896 | $116,884 | $470,062 |
| 11 | Fauquier County | 74,577 | $130,189 | $647,006 |
| 12 | Stafford County | 163,466 | $137,807 | $540,304 |
| 13 | King William County | 18,593 | $86,056 | $349,721 |
| 14 | Powhatan County | 31,555 | $110,537 | $493,803 |
| 15 | Roanoke County | 97,023 | $83,709 | $334,262 |
| 16 | Albemarle County | 114,919 | $104,392 | $553,894 |
| 17 | Botetourt County | 34,004 | $81,213 | $310,578 |
| 18 | Gloucester County | 39,526 | $84,306 | $371,033 |
| 19 | Augusta County | 78,033 | $82,049 | $359,440 |
| 20 | Alexandria city | 156,976 | $119,681 | $790,213 |
| 21 | Isle of Wight County | 39,974 | $95,241 | $376,397 |
| 22 | Fairfax County | 1,147,837 | $153,637 | $774,448 |
| 22 | Virginia Beach city | 456,349 | $92,968 | $411,177 |
| 24 | Middlesex County | 10,847 | $75,060 | $383,930 |
| 25 | Orange County | 37,822 | $94,008 | $380,212 |
| 26 | Fairfax city | 25,026 | $132,348 | $776,775 |
| 27 | Chesterfield County | 377,869 | $101,931 | $409,268 |
| 28 | Bedford County | 80,894 | $78,937 | $347,761 |
| 29 | Henrico County | 335,744 | $88,783 | $397,234 |
| 30 | Chesapeake city | 252,583 | $95,373 | $406,770 |
| 31 | Lexington city | 7,525 | $84,517 | $295,833 |
| 32 | Salem city | 25,618 | $66,725 | $277,988 |
| 32 | Charlottesville city | 45,437 | $74,824 | $523,189 |
| 34 | Greene County | 21,155 | $89,808 | $378,637 |
| 35 | Fluvanna County | 28,092 | $96,768 | $374,395 |
| 36 | Frederick County | 95,008 | $97,606 | $427,505 |
| 37 | Prince William County | 488,880 | $131,402 | $587,492 |
| 38 | Montgomery County | 99,101 | $72,715 | $342,441 |
| 39 | Surry County | 6,549 | $78,041 | $278,689 |
| 40 | Spotsylvania County | 146,603 | $112,738 | $456,350 |
| 41 | Culpeper County | 54,397 | $100,049 | $485,035 |
| 42 | Rockbridge County | 22,531 | $65,469 | $329,288 |
| 43 | Madison County | 14,044 | $84,323 | $414,199 |
| 43 | Prince George County | 43,146 | $84,897 | $353,626 |
| 45 | Giles County | 16,557 | $65,691 | $199,651 |
| 46 | Suffolk city | 98,796 | $92,666 | $373,446 |
| 47 | Franklin County | 55,130 | $68,849 | $355,876 |
| 48 | Campbell County | 55,312 | $66,165 | $270,596 |
| 49 | Louisa County | 39,980 | $86,689 | $415,533 |
| 50 | Charles City County | 6,627 | $75,417 | $281,917 |
| 51 | Craig County | 4,856 | $69,057 | $227,156 |
| 52 | Mathews County | 8,540 | $75,880 | $342,415 |
| 53 | Colonial Heights city | 18,352 | $76,505 | $265,088 |
| 54 | Bland County | 6,199 | $61,216 | $186,837 |
| 55 | Fredericksburg city | 28,873 | $86,071 | $519,964 |
| 56 | Cumberland County | 9,818 | $55,325 | $280,107 |
| 57 | Nelson County | 14,732 | $72,589 | $361,835 |
| 58 | Richmond County | 9,095 | $66,304 | $244,336 |
| 59 | Manassas city | 42,976 | $113,590 | $483,630 |
| 60 | Rockingham County | 85,600 | $80,693 | $358,955 |
| 61 | Dinwiddie County | 28,191 | $83,704 | $295,196 |
| 62 | Caroline County | 32,098 | $87,407 | $352,917 |
| 62 | Northumberland County | 12,188 | $66,480 | $362,087 |
| 64 | Williamsburg city | 15,798 | $75,604 | $460,196 |
| 65 | Washington County | 53,926 | $64,552 | $255,766 |
| 66 | Floyd County | 15,593 | $62,191 | $275,212 |
| 67 | Southampton County | 17,964 | $70,795 | $268,328 |
| 68 | Pulaski County | 33,687 | $62,028 | $215,729 |
| 69 | Rappahannock County | 7,427 | $83,380 | $562,641 |
| 70 | Highland County | 2,296 | $65,625 | $281,504 |
| 71 | Amelia County | 13,462 | $76,717 | $326,735 |
| 72 | Staunton city | 25,948 | $65,581 | $278,633 |
| 73 | Warren County | 41,531 | $84,682 | $393,261 |
| 73 | Manassas Park city | 16,798 | $103,250 | $425,582 |
| 75 | Buena Vista city | 6,593 | $57,833 | $167,911 |
| 76 | Alleghany County | 14,859 | $56,188 | $177,485 |
| 77 | Appomattox County | 16,610 | $62,853 | $290,320 |
| 78 | Bath County | 4,100 | $56,184 | $224,212 |
| 79 | Shenandoah County | 44,925 | $67,191 | $341,883 |
| 80 | Amherst County | 31,485 | $68,724 | $257,885 |
| 81 | King and Queen County | 6,695 | $70,469 | $300,988 |
| 82 | Prince Edward County | 21,996 | $56,315 | $239,656 |
| 83 | Lancaster County | 10,936 | $69,713 | $389,603 |
| 84 | Patrick County | 17,512 | $53,038 | $192,604 |
| 85 | Mecklenburg County | 30,516 | $57,045 | $206,873 |
| 86 | Wythe County | 28,188 | $57,745 | $214,803 |
| 87 | Hampton city | 137,557 | $69,621 | $264,121 |
| 88 | Newport News city | 184,216 | $69,634 | $280,138 |
| 89 | Dickenson County | 13,733 | $47,254 | $113,840 |
| 90 | Lynchburg city | 79,497 | $57,947 | $247,029 |
| 91 | Radford city | 16,726 | $57,348 | $237,247 |
| 92 | Smyth County | 29,420 | $49,883 | $154,972 |
| 93 | Franklin city | 8,250 | $63,245 | $275,838 |
| 94 | Emporia city | 5,547 | $51,899 | $159,633 |
| 95 | Richmond city | 229,359 | $64,587 | $379,465 |
| 96 | Tazewell County | 39,624 | $47,313 | $134,741 |
| 96 | Northampton County | 12,059 | $61,632 | $305,552 |
| 98 | Norfolk city | 233,596 | $66,109 | $311,635 |
| 99 | Charlotte County | 11,422 | $58,000 | $186,051 |
| 100 | Essex County | 10,623 | $56,520 | $295,722 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 132 Virginia counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In Virginia To Call Home For 2026
Living in Virginia can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in Virginia are Goochland County, New Kent County, Poquoson city, Falls Church city, Hanover County, Arlington County, Clarke County, Loudoun County, York County, and King George County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
