Moving to
Brandermill.

All Brandermill data Compare Brandermill

13,730people live here $107,396median household income▲ 33% above US $1,782median rent per month▲ 26% above US $376,000median home value▲ 13% above US

Brandermill is an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, VA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Brandermill

Brandermill is an unincorporated community in Virginia with county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, air quality that stays clean most of the year, and a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Brandermill deals with rent well above the national average and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Higher-than-average incomes
Clean air
Highly educated workforce
Average class sizes

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options

How Brandermill compares

Median household income

Brandermill$107,396

Virginia avg$93,170

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Brandermill$1,782

Virginia avg$1,579

US$1,413

Median home value

Brandermill$376,000

Virginia avg$383,700

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Brandermill

Based on Brandermill's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,564

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $71,280 a year
43% of Brandermill renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$75,200

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $37,600
Homes cost 3.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 26% above US

$1,782/mo median rent

Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,782 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices run above average, with a median around $376,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $376,000 · 43% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.2% county unemployment

Unemployment in Chesterfield County is 3.2%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Chesterfield County (county-wide)

Safety

161 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Brandermill doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Chesterfield County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1157/100k · Policed by Chesterfield County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

26 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 25.5 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 21% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

71%

Work from home

21%

Carpool

6.4%

Walk

1.3%

Public transit

0.3%

Other

0.1%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 88°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 30°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 36% above US

49% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 49% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

8 public schools inside the boundary

There are 8 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Maggie L Walker National Historic Site (14 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Brandermill's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city. A year of median rent ($1,782/mo) equals 20% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), remote workers (21% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

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