A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Culpeper$2,620/mo

Typical home $459K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.55% · or rent about $1,416/mo · Housing →

Laurel$1,660/mo

Typical home $284K (Census) · tax rate 0.72% · or rent about $1,616/mo · Housing →

The difference: $960 a month, about $11,500 a year, between Culpeper and Laurel.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Laurel places higher on 11 of 20 VA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Virginia ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

B−CulpeperSafer than 46% of U.S. towns –LaurelNot graded

Schools

C+CulpeperBetter than 44% of districts in the state C+LaurelBetter than 39% of districts in the state

Health

B−CulpeperHealthier than 52% of U.S. towns BLaurelHealthier than 58% of U.S. towns

9Culpeper

11Laurel

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 255 towns #251#53 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 95 towns #25#81 Shortest commuteGetting around · 255 towns #199#85 Highest graduation rateSchools · 249 towns #98#206 Fastest growingGrowth · 240 towns #29#120 Most conserved landOutdoors · 243 towns #164#236 Lowest obesityHealth · 255 towns #198#126 Most remote workersWork · 248 towns #187#132

Left end = #1 in Virginia. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Culpeper’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

CulpeperLaurel

Snow a year16″15″

January low25°F 27°F

July high87°F 87°F

Growing season (days)204d 201d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)62nd 7th

Outdoors & history

CulpeperLaurel

Trails4 mi 0 mi

Conserved land2.5%0.1%

Settled1759 —

National Register places12 —

Archive photos18 —

Famous people born here32 —

Community

CulpeperLaurel

Library hours a week48 hrs —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

64 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CulpeperVA LaurelVA

Culpeper ↔ Laurel64 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Virginia average

CulpeperLaurel

People

Population 20,794Highest 18,721Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +22.5%Highest VA: +7.9% +6.3%Lowest VA: +7.9%

Median age 32.5±1.4Lowest 17% below VA 35.1±1.8Highest 10% below VA

Laurel and Culpeper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 29.8%±3.1Highest VA: 21.7% 21%±2.6Lowest VA: 21.7%

Age 65+ 11.1%±1.9Lowest VA: 16.7% 11.8%±1.3Highest VA: 16.7%

Laurel and Culpeper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 30.7%Highest VA: 42.2% 29.8%Lowest VA: 42.2%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7.3%±1.7Lowest VA: 6.9% 7.9%±2.6Highest VA: 6.9%

Laurel and Culpeper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $94,721±$12kHighest about the VA average $73,609±$9kLowest 21% below VA

Culpeper and Laurel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $390,000±$19kHighest about the VA average $283,600±$9kLowest 26% below VA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,416±$89Lowest 10% below VA $1,616±$94Highest about the VA average

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,139Highest 23% below VA $2,036Lowest 27% below VA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 42%±9.7Lowest VA: 48.5% 57.2%±8.6Highest VA: 48.5%

Laurel and Culpeper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 12.8%Highest VA: 9.9% 8.4%Lowest VA: 9.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 59.2%Highest VA: 67.3% 51.8%Lowest VA: 67.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1998Highest 14 yrs newer than VA 1982Lowest 2 yrs older than VA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 32 minHighest 17% above VA 24 minLowest 12% below VA

Work from home 10.3%±3.3Lowest VA: 18.3% 15.7%±2.8Highest VA: 18.3%

Laurel and Culpeper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 21.7%Highest 3.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 31.8 miHighest 8.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.30Lowest 1.44Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Warrenton (5%)Richmond (20%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in LaurelFew work in Culpeper

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.5%Highest 0.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 4.2 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 84.4Lowest 116Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #172 of 219 in VA #181 of 219 in VA

School district Culpeper County Public SchoolsDepartment of Education State-Operated Educ Prgms · Henrico County Public Schools

High school in town None in townHermitage High

Students per teacherat that high school — 16.7

Virginia average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Culpeper neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Culpeper’s Town Square.

Laurel neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Laurel’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Culpeper

+ Compare

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Colonial Heights18,352 people · $247K homes

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Salem25,618 people · $259K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Culpeper vs Laurel

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $960 more a month in Culpeper

Laurel places higher on 11 of 20 VA lists

What daily life feels like in each

64 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Culpeper and Laurel

Towns like Culpeper

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