Virginia Beach neighborhoods: where to live and what each area is like

Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: the City of Virginia Beach’s strategic growth areas page, context areas page and park property layer, Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ 2026-27 attendance zones, the state’s School Quality Profiles, the Census Bureau, Zillow Research and OpenStreetMap.

About 457,000 people live in Virginia Beach, the Census Bureau’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey says. This guide splits the city into 10 areas you can place on a map, each with its own page: where it is, zoned schools, home values, parks, commute and stores.

What this means for you

• School zones do not follow neighborhood names. Town Center is zoned for Bayside High; the middle of Bayside is zoned for Cox. Check one address with the VBCPS School Locator.
• ZIP codes are large. 23456 alone runs from Salem to the Courthouse area and Sandbridge, so a ZIP code value is a rough guide, not a price for one street.
• There is no county. Virginia Beach is an independent city: one tax rate, $0.97 per $100 for fiscal 2027, and one school division. See property taxes.

How the city is laid out

The Green Line. In 1979 the city introduced the Green Line, an urban growth boundary, “to channel growth and infrastructure improvement to the northern half of the city,” its strategic growth areas page says. The land north of it is “mostly developed and densely populated,” with neighborhoods, shopping and job centers, Naval Air Station Oceana and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, the city’s context areas page says. South of it, density steps down toward farmland.

Four context areas. The city’s comprehensive plan divides Virginia Beach into four landscapes: Coastal along the bay and ocean, Inland north of the Green Line, Courthouse between the Green Line and the Rural Area Boundary, and Rural in the south, home to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park.

Eight growth areas. The city has picked eight strategic growth areas for denser, mixed-use building: Burton Station, Centerville, Hilltop, Lynnhaven, Newtown, Pembroke, the Resort Area and Rosemont. Four of them, mostly homes and shops, have pages here.

One main road. Interstate 264 runs east from Norfolk past Town Center to the Oceanfront, where it ends. The southern half has no interstate.

Twelve ZIP codes. By the Census Bureau’s 2020 relationship file, 12 ZIP code areas have at least 10% of their land in the city: 23451 to 23457, 23459 to 23462 and 23464. Zillow publishes home values for nine of them.

The areas at a glance

Zoned high school is the 2026-27 zone at the middle of each area; most areas are split. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index for September 2026, a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price. The citywide figure was $424,785.

Every Virginia Beach school was fully accredited for 2025-26, and the high schools above had four-year on-time graduation rates of 95% to 99% for the class of 2026, on the state’s School Quality Profiles. More in our schools guide and home prices guide.

Oceanfront (Resort Area)

The city’s Resort strategic growth area, about 1,988 acres along the Atlantic, with a 2020 plan that backs more year-round homes and mixed-use buildings. ZIP 23451; I-264 ends here. Read the Oceanfront page.

Hilltop

The shopping district at Laskin and First Colonial roads, a growth area of about 761 acres. The city notes it is in a high noise zone from NAS Oceana. I-264 exits 20 and 21. Read the Hilltop page.

Lynnhaven

The 868-acre growth area around I-264 exit 19 and the old London Bridge commercial strip, by the Lynnhaven River and London Bridge Creek. ZIP codes 23452 and 23454. Read the Lynnhaven page.

Pembroke and Town Center

The 1,200-acre growth area the city plans as its urban core, around Town Center at I-264 exit 17, with Mount Trashmore Park next door. ZIP 23462. Read the Pembroke page.

Kempsville

The large residential area along Princess Anne Road south of I-264 exit 16, with more than 10 city parks within about 1.5 miles of its center. ZIP codes 23462 and 23464. Read the Kempsville page.

Bayside

The northwest of the city along Shore Drive, with Pleasure House Point Natural Area and Bayville Farms Park. ZIP 23455; no interstate in the area. Read the Bayside page.

Salem

Homes along Lynnhaven Parkway and Salem Road, named for Salem High and Salem Middle, with the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex. Mostly ZIP 23456. Read the Salem page.

Princess Anne and Courthouse

The Municipal Center and the city’s Courthouse context area, where the Transition Area allows an average of one home per acre. ZIP 23456. Read the Princess Anne page.

Sandbridge

The beach community at the southeast edge, a special service district taxed at $0.98 per $100, next to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. ZIP 23456. Read the Sandbridge page.

Pungo

The crossroads of Princess Anne and Indian River roads, at the edge of the city’s farm country. ZIP 23456, with 23457 to the south. Read the Pungo page.

Comparing Virginia Beach with its neighbors

Taxes, schools, home values and commutes in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth, side by side: Virginia Beach vs Norfolk vs Chesapeake vs Portsmouth. Also see moving to Virginia Beach and getting around.

How we built this

• Which areas: the four growth areas with homes in them (Resort Area, Hilltop, Lynnhaven and Pembroke) come from the city’s comprehensive plan, using the city’s own boundaries. The other six are places OpenStreetMap names in the city (Kempsville, Bayside, Salem, Princess Anne, Sandbridge and Pungo), drawn as a circle of 1.5 to 2 miles around the point where OpenStreetMap places them, because the city does not draw their edges. Princess Anne, Pungo and Sandbridge are also tied to the city’s Courthouse and Rural context areas and the Transition Area.
• Left out: the Burton Station, Centerville, Newtown and Rosemont growth areas, which the city describes as business, retail or education districts, and individual subdivisions.
• Schools: the division’s 2026-27 attendance zone maps, checked Oct. 19, 2026.
• Home values: Zillow’s ZIP code file for September 2026.
• Distances: measured on the OpenStreetMap road network with the OSRM routing engine.
• Map data: neighborhood names, stores and exit numbers are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main neighborhoods in Virginia Beach?

The city’s plan names eight strategic growth areas, including the Resort Area at the Oceanfront, Pembroke around Town Center, Hilltop and Lynnhaven. OpenStreetMap also places Kempsville, Bayside, Salem, Princess Anne, Sandbridge and Pungo. This guide covers 10 of them.

How many ZIP codes does Virginia Beach have?

Twelve ZIP code areas have at least 10% of their land in the city, by the Census Bureau’s 2020 relationship file: 23451 to 23457, 23459 to 23462, and 23464.

Which Virginia Beach ZIP code has the highest home values?

Of the ZIP codes Zillow publishes for the city, 23457, the rural south around Creeds, had the highest typical value in September 2026, $671,607, followed by 23451 at the Oceanfront, $658,617. The lowest was 23462, around Pembroke and Kempsville, at $326,107.

Do school zones in Virginia Beach follow neighborhood names?

No. Town Center is zoned for Bayside High, and the middle of Bayside is zoned for Frank W. Cox High in the 2026-27 zone maps. Always check one address with the VBCPS School Locator.

What is the Green Line in Virginia Beach?

An urban growth boundary the city introduced in 1979 to steer growth and new infrastructure to the northern half of the city and keep the south rural, according to the city’s strategic growth areas page.