Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Virginia with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Virginia that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Virginia at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Orange.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Virginia For 2026
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Virginia reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Virginia
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Virginia
- Best Places To Retire In Virginia
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Virginia For 2026
/10
Population: 5,066
Median Home Price: $336,893
Population Change: 1.3%
Home Price Change: 1.8%
More on Orange: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,162
Median Home Price: $140,136
Population Change: -0.6%
Home Price Change: -0.9%
More on Big Stone Gap: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,871
Median Home Price: $337,785
Population Change: 0.3%
Home Price Change: 3.2%
More on Woodstock: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,171
Median Home Price: $106,217
Population Change: -0.3%
Home Price Change: -2.6%
More on Richlands: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,547
Median Home Price: $159,793
Population Change: -1.5%
Home Price Change: 7.3%
More on Emporia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,816
Median Home Price: $596,416
Population Change: 1.2%
Home Price Change: 1.2%
More on Dumfries: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,670
Median Home Price: $157,966
Population Change: -0.4%
Home Price Change: -1.1%
More on Marion: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,680
Median Home Price: $158,022
Population Change: 0.2%
Home Price Change: 4.0%
More on Covington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,708
Median Home Price: $375,081
Population Change: 0.9%
Home Price Change: 0.2%
More on Bridgewater: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,726
Median Home Price: $182,062
Population Change: 0.4%
Home Price Change: 3.0%
More on Galax: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Virginia for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Virginia. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Virginia with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Virginia with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Virginia, only 62 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 62 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Orange is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Old Dominion.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Virginia for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Virginia. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Virginia are Orange, Big Stone Gap, Woodstock, Richlands, Emporia, Dumfries, Marion, Covington, Bridgewater, and Galax.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Virginia
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange | 5,066 | $336,893 | 1.3% | 1.8% |
| 2 | Big Stone Gap | 5,162 | $140,136 | -0.6% | -0.9% |
| 3 | Woodstock | 5,871 | $337,785 | 0.3% | 3.2% |
| 4 | Richlands | 5,171 | $106,217 | -0.3% | -2.6% |
| 5 | Emporia | 5,547 | $159,793 | -1.5% | 7.3% |
| 6 | Dumfries | 5,816 | $596,416 | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| 7 | Marion | 5,670 | $157,966 | -0.4% | -1.1% |
| 8 | Covington | 5,680 | $158,022 | 0.2% | 4.0% |
| 9 | Bridgewater | 6,708 | $375,081 | 0.9% | 0.2% |
| 10 | Galax | 6,726 | $182,062 | 0.4% | 3.0% |
| 11 | Buena Vista | 6,593 | $196,020 | -0.3% | 1.4% |
| 12 | Strasburg | 7,214 | $346,089 | 0.7% | 2.1% |
| 13 | Lexington | 7,525 | $358,988 | 1.4% | 2.6% |
| 14 | South Boston | 7,853 | $149,171 | -0.5% | 3.4% |
| 15 | Ashland | 7,772 | $463,340 | 1.4% | 3.3% |
| 16 | Wytheville | 8,202 | $223,768 | -0.3% | 3.2% |
| 17 | Abingdon | 8,330 | $281,618 | -0.0% | 0.0% |
| 18 | Franklin | 8,250 | $242,883 | 0.5% | 1.5% |
| 19 | Vinton | 8,056 | $283,675 | 0.2% | 2.5% |
| 20 | Farmville | 7,774 | $261,291 | 2.1% | 1.3% |
| 21 | Smithfield | 8,834 | $393,349 | 1.2% | 1.8% |
| 22 | Pulaski | 8,893 | $168,551 | -0.5% | 0.5% |
| 23 | Warrenton | 10,176 | $681,948 | 0.2% | 1.9% |
| 24 | Purcellville | 8,973 | $909,565 | -0.0% | 2.9% |
| 25 | Poquoson | 12,639 | $462,479 | 0.7% | 3.6% |
| 26 | Martinsville | 13,658 | $133,032 | 0.5% | -0.5% |
| 27 | Falls Church | 14,710 | $789,603 | 0.8% | 3.9% |
| 28 | Williamsburg | 15,798 | $464,103 | 1.5% | 1.1% |
| 29 | Front Royal | 15,296 | $383,199 | 1.0% | 3.3% |
| 30 | Vienna | 16,412 | $1,179,672 | 0.3% | 4.2% |
| 31 | Bristol | 16,849 | $201,474 | -1.0% | -1.6% |
| 32 | Colonial Heights | 18,352 | $294,925 | 0.8% | 1.5% |
| 33 | Manassas Park | 16,798 | $462,196 | -0.7% | 1.0% |
| 34 | Radford | 16,726 | $261,601 | 1.3% | -0.1% |
| 35 | Culpeper | 20,794 | $451,494 | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| 36 | Waynesboro | 22,841 | $312,910 | 1.2% | 2.5% |
| 37 | Christiansburg | 22,720 | $304,607 | -0.4% | 1.8% |
| 38 | Hopewell | 22,959 | $232,748 | 0.1% | 1.3% |
| 39 | Fairfax | 25,026 | $792,535 | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| 40 | Herndon | 24,672 | $740,679 | 0.6% | 1.8% |
| 41 | Staunton | 25,948 | $308,028 | 0.7% | 2.3% |
| 42 | Salem | 25,618 | $305,425 | 0.6% | 2.9% |
| 43 | Winchester | 27,913 | $399,456 | -0.2% | 1.4% |
| 44 | Fredericksburg | 28,873 | $480,265 | 1.7% | 1.3% |
| 45 | Petersburg | 33,537 | $245,998 | 0.5% | 2.7% |
| 46 | Danville | 42,214 | $156,398 | -0.1% | -0.2% |
| 47 | Manassas | 42,976 | $557,118 | 0.7% | 1.8% |
| 48 | Blacksburg | 45,446 | $420,778 | 0.3% | 3.0% |
| 49 | Charlottesville | 45,437 | $515,217 | -0.9% | 1.7% |
| 50 | Harrisonburg | 51,392 | $348,178 | -0.2% | 1.9% |
| 51 | Leesburg | 49,171 | $865,516 | 0.8% | 3.2% |
| 52 | Lynchburg | 79,497 | $262,101 | 0.3% | 0.7% |
| 53 | Suffolk | 98,796 | $384,300 | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| 54 | Portsmouth | 97,190 | $260,461 | -0.1% | 1.9% |
| 55 | Roanoke | 98,355 | $277,113 | -0.3% | 1.7% |
| 56 | Hampton | 137,557 | $275,340 | 0.2% | 3.0% |
| 57 | Alexandria | 156,976 | $676,204 | 0.1% | 1.7% |
| 58 | Newport News | 184,216 | $290,659 | -0.3% | 1.8% |
| 59 | Richmond | 229,359 | $369,645 | 0.8% | 2.6% |
| 60 | Chesapeake | 252,583 | $420,755 | 0.6% | 2.1% |
| 61 | Norfolk | 233,596 | $306,226 | -0.6% | 1.3% |
| 62 | Virginia Beach | 456,349 | $427,031 | -0.2% | 3.3% |