The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns for First-Time Home Buyers in Virginia

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 121 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Virginia. #1 is Chamberlayne, VA.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns for First-Time Home Buyers in Virginia1. Chamberlayne99th pct2. Altavista99th pct3. Falmouth98th pct4. Enon98th pct5. Vinton97th pct6. Bensley97th pct7. Dumbarton95th pct8. Montrose95th pct9. Ettrick95th pct10. Norton95th pct11. Hutchison93rd pct12. Windsor93rd pct13. Rockwood90th pct14. Bellwood90th pct15. Dumfries89th pct16. Timberville89th pct17. Matoaca86th pct18. Fair Lakes84th pct19. Potomac Mills83rd pct20. Spotsylvania Courthouse82nd pct21. Pantops82nd pct22. Loch Lomond82nd pct23. Richlands79th pct24. Berryville78th pct25. Hillsville77th pct
  1. 25Hillsville, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 77% of Virginia towns

    2,884 people · Carroll County · median home $159,000 · income $58,000 · Jan low 23°F · 15 in snow

  2. 24Berryville, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 78% of Virginia towns

    4,574 people · Clarke County · median home $550,500 · income $102,788 · Jan low 22°F · 22 in snow

  3. 23Richlands, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 79% of Virginia towns

    5,261 people · Tazewell County · median home $111,000 · income $37,154 · Jan low 23°F · 18 in snow

  4. 22Loch Lomond, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 82% of Virginia towns

    4,050 people · Prince William County · median home $442,300 · income $113,790 · Jan low 25°F · 19 in snow

  5. 21Pantops, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 82% of Virginia towns

    4,682 people · Albemarle County · median home $522,900 · income $127,552 · Jan low 26°F · 16 in snow

  6. 20Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 82% of Virginia towns

    5,610 people · Spotsylvania County · median home $395,700 · income $95,331 · Jan low 25°F · 11 in snow

  7. 19Potomac Mills, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 83% of Virginia towns

    6,332 people · Prince William County · median home $582,700 · income $104,545 · Jan low 28°F · 14 in snow

  8. 18Fair Lakes, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 84% of Virginia towns

    8,404 people · Fairfax County · median home $588,200 · income $127,332 · Jan low 23°F · 19 in snow

  9. 17Matoaca, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 86% of Virginia towns

    2,655 people · Chesterfield County · median home $251,000 · income $70,174 · Jan low 28°F · 7 in snow

  10. 16Timberville, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 89% of Virginia towns

    2,963 people · Rockingham County · median home $231,000 · income $59,909 · Jan low 23°F · 20 in snow

  11. 15Dumfries, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 89% of Virginia towns

    5,679 people · Prince William County · median home $331,800 · income $82,355 · Jan low 28°F · 12 in snow

  12. 14Bellwood, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 90% of Virginia towns

    7,678 people · Chesterfield County · median home $225,300 · income $47,781 · Jan low 29°F · 8 in snow

  13. 13Rockwood, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 90% of Virginia towns

    8,685 people · Chesterfield County · median home $354,400 · income $97,992 · Jan low 29°F · 9 in snow

  14. 12Windsor, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 93% of Virginia towns

    2,746 people · Isle of Wight County · median home $280,800 · income $68,661 · Jan low 29°F · 4 in snow

  15. 11Hutchison, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 93% of Virginia towns

    6,231 people · Fairfax County · median home $476,900 · income $105,651 · Jan low 25°F · 21 in snow

  16. 10Norton, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 95% of Virginia towns

    3,687 people · Norton city · median home $110,000 · income $41,495 · Jan low 25°F · 47 in snow

  17. 9Ettrick, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 95% of Virginia towns

    7,241 people · Chesterfield County · median home $211,200 · income $58,137 · Jan low 28°F · 4 in snow

  18. 8Montrose, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 95% of Virginia towns

    7,909 people · Henrico County · median home $194,100 · income $49,550 · Jan low 29°F · 9 in snow

  19. 7Dumbarton, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 95% of Virginia towns

    8,506 people · Henrico County · median home $291,300 · income $60,169 · Jan low 28°F · 12 in snow

  20. 6Bensley, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 97% of Virginia towns

    5,971 people · Chesterfield County · median home $218,500 · income $50,547 · Jan low 29°F · 9 in snow

  21. 5Vinton, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 97% of Virginia towns

    8,059 people · Roanoke County · median home $190,900 · income $65,445 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  22. 4Enon, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 98% of Virginia towns

    4,075 people · Chesterfield County · median home $253,600 · income $76,341 · Jan low 31°F · 4 in snow

  23. 3Falmouth, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 98% of Virginia towns

    4,956 people · Stafford County · median home $438,200 · income $111,977 · Jan low 25°F · 11 in snow

  24. 2Altavista, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 99% of Virginia towns

    3,378 people · Campbell County · median home $142,900 · income $51,349 · Jan low 26°F · 9 in snow

  25. 1Chamberlayne, Virginia

    Better for first-time buyers than 99% of Virginia towns

    5,581 people · Henrico County · median home $351,100 · income $97,544 · Jan low 28°F · 12 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Virginia towns0255075100$84K$327K$570K$813K$1056KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Virginia.

More Virginia rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 121 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Virginia (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: