Charlottesville, Virginia
Area Profile
45,437 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Charlottesville, in Charlottesville city.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesCharlottesville ranks in the top 8% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $74,824.
In the public schools here, 75% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.5 students for every teacher.
Residential permitting has slowed: 115 units authorized over the past twelve months, 87% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment grew 1.7% over the past year, to 24,068 employed residents.
62% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 94% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsCharlottesville city, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $87,231 | 70th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftCharlottesville city, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $79,412 | 63rd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$5,3712024 ACS 5-Year | $74,824 | Top 39%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,6442024 ACS 5-Year | $51,540 | Top 16%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.5% | Bottom 47%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.7 min | Top 13%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 62.5% | Top 6%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 53.1% | 8th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 24,068 | Bottom 29%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | +0.4% | Top 39%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | +1.7% | Top 11%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 24,851 | 29th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 82.6% | Top 33%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageCharlottesville, VA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $74,000 | Top 30%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageCharlottesville, VA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $55,180 | Top 34%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.6% | 96th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.2% | Bottom 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.2% | Top 11%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 21.4% | 87th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Charlottesville, VA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 3,040 | $99,320 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 2,800 | $30,150 |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,540 | $34,210 |
| General and Operations Managers | 2,530 | $107,200 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 2,140 | $44,030 |
| Cashiers | 2,110 | $30,930 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
75% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 75% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 12.5 students for every full-time teacher across 21 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albemarle High | Albemarle County Public Schools | 1,964 | 15.1 | 77% | 81% |
| Charlottesville High | Charlottesville City Public Schools | 1,438 | 12.6 | 83% | 94% |
| Monticello High | Albemarle County Public Schools | 1,184 | 14.3 | 71% | 85% |
| Mountain View Elementary | Albemarle County Public Schools | 769 | 13.5 | 71% | 60% |
| Journey Middle | Albemarle County Public Schools | 646 | 12.7 | 74% | 70% |
| Walker Upper Elementary | Charlottesville City Public Schools | 570 | 9.0 | 65% | 65% |
| Buford Middle | Charlottesville City Public Schools | 563 | 8.2 | 69% | 70% |
| Jackson P. Burley Middle | Albemarle County Public Schools | 534 | 12.4 | 86% | 73% |
| Agnor Elementary | Albemarle County Public Schools | 523 | 13.8 | 68% | 67% |
| Woodbrook Elementary | Albemarle County Public Schools | 522 | 12.4 | 73% | 63% |
| Mary Carr Greer Elementary | Albemarle County Public Schools | 520 | 12.1 | 63% | 53% |
| Jackson-Via Elementary | Charlottesville City Public Schools | 370 | 12.3 | 67% | 62% |
56.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Virginia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 1% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 99.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Charlottesville, VA Metro Area is up 47% over five years, and up 3.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,915 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.80% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,824, some 18% above the $1,540 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,824 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $73,000 a year, about 98% of the median household income here of $74,824.
The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,540 a month.
A median home at $486,700 costs 3.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $125,677, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 1% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Charlottesville, VA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Charlottesville’s median household income of $74,824, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Charlottesville, VA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 99.0 | Top 41%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Charlottesville, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.0% | 48th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Charlottesville, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +46.9% | 68th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Charlottesville, VA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +86.2% | 38th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 3.9 | Bottom 19%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 44.2% | 6th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±862024 ACS 5-Year | 21,610 | 97th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,602 | Bottom 38%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,218 | Bottom 49%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,824 | Bottom 41%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$632024 ACS 5-Year | $1,540 | Bottom 19%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$16,0022024 ACS 5-Year | $486,700 | 88th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1522024 ACS 5-Year | $3,915 | 82nd percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$9,7832024 ACS 5-Year | $125,677 | Top 13%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.80% | 38th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 33.5% | Bottom 25%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1042024 ACS 5-Year | 169 | 93rd percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.8% | 60th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.5% | 53rd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3692024 ACS 5-Year | 1,795 | 97th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has fallen 4% since 2020, to 44,767 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 889 units authorized in 2025, against 34 the year before.
84% of the 115 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.
Federal tax returns show Charlottesville city, which contains Charlottesville, lost about 2.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $87,231, above the $79,412 of households that moved out.
At 2.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Albemarle County, VA 1,063 people · 31% of arrivals
- District of Columbia, DC 92 people · 2.6% of arrivals
- Fairfax County, VA 81 people · 2.3% of arrivals
- Fluvanna County, VA 79 people · 2.3% of arrivals
- Richmond city, VA 61 people · 1.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Albemarle County, VA 1,470 people · 34% of departures
- Fluvanna County, VA 132 people · 3.1% of departures
- Richmond city, VA 120 people · 2.8% of departures
- District of Columbia, DC 88 people · 2.0% of departures
- Fairfax County, VA 78 people · 1.8% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Charlottesville city, VA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 28°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 48.2 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 48.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 28°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 84°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 40°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% of it. Inland flooding and strong wind are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 88% of measured US cities.
Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, heat wave, lightning, inland flooding, winter weather, ice storm, hail, tornado, landslide, drought, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Charlottesville's police department reported 277 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,810.
Charlottesville city has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 9.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 12.9 per 100,000 residents in Charlottesville city.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Charlottesville’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Charlottesville (Charlottesville city) rather than Charlottesville itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Richmond Intl at 74 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 90.4% | Top 47%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 74 mi | Bottom 4%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 2 | Bottom 8%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.5% | Top 33%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Intl | RIC | 74 mi | 9,003 ft |
| Washington Dulles Intl | IAD | 84 mi | 11,500 ft |
| Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood Marshall | BWI | 126 mi | 10,503 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Other cities in Charlottesville, VA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Monticello | Fluvanna County | 10,662 | 70 | Lake Monticello vs Charlottesville |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Charlottesville side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Charlottesville from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Charlottesville
3 ZIP areasEvery ZIP area in Charlottesville with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Charlottesville closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.