Photo: Ser_Amantio_di_Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Mantua costs more to live in than 74% of U.S. towns
It ranks #139 of 253 in Virginia for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Mantua’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($127K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 19% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 30% of renters.
In dollars
- $2,720a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 109prices across the Washington metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 151)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 7.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$127K, Washington-area income
- 20%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 30%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Virginia: 49%Census 2020–24
- 19%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Mantua
About two in three homes sell above asking
In May, 70% of the homes that sold went for more than the asking price and 78% went under contract within two weeks. There were about 0.7 months of homes for sale at that pace, against 2.3 across Virginia: 7 listings for 10 sales that month. Expect competition on well-priced homes. How fast homes sell ↓
Rent is easier on renters here
30% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 49% across Virginia. A standard two-bedroom is 15% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Mantua, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Mantua’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Mantua is more affordable than 26% of U.S. towns, #139 of 253 in Virginia. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Home prices up 38% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Mantua rose 38% over the past 5 years, slower than across Virginia (49%). Last year prices rose 5.2%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Mantua home at roughly $1,186,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $1.19M.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Mantua, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 10 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 7.9 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Mantua’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $679K short of a typical Mantua home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,720 a month here, $4,220 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, the Virginia typical property tax (0.73% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,720
Renters already here pay a median of $2,064, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Property tax runs above the Virginia norm
The median bill is $10,000+ (Virginia: $2,790), 1.00%+ of a home’s value a year, against 0.73% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Mantua
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, or Virginia. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 109 | VA 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 105 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 107 | VA 92 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 102 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Mantua vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Mantua. Long Branch and Woodburn and Merrifield have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mantua | C | — | $1.0M | 1.00%+ | $2,720 |
| Woodburn | D− | — | $764K | 0.99% | $2,370 |
| Fairfax | D | $775K | $723K | 0.90% | $2,650 |
| Merrifield | D | — | $661K | 1.02% | $2,670 |
| Long Branch | C+ | — | $842K | 0.99% | $2,600 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Mantua
Is Mantua expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Mantua costs more than 74% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #139 of 253 in Virginia. The typical home costs 7.9 years of the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K).
How much is rent in Mantua?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,720 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $2,064 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Mantua?
The median bill is $10,000+ a year, 1.00% of the median home value (Virginia: $2,790, 0.73%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Mantua buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.