What is the cost of living in Charlottesville?

Charlottesville has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 99.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 107.0, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,824/month.

What is the median salary in Charlottesville?

The median salary in Charlottesville is $70,567 annually (mean: $74,983). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Charlottesville?

The violent crime rate in the Charlottesville area is 223 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1590 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Charlottesville?

The state of VA has 1,869 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.9:1. Charter schools make up 0.4% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Charlottesville?

Infant center-based childcare in the Charlottesville area averages $10,407 per year. Preschool averages $7,975/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Charlottesville a good place to relocate?

Charlottesville has a Life Score of 47.6/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Charlottesville sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Charlottesville ranks #176 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Charlottesville, VA

BEA RPP 99.1 ranks #291 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

99.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,824
2BR rent / mo: $70,567
Median salary: 52.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Charlottesville ranks #176 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (52.4/100), with its strongest marks in job market and safety.

#176
of 387 US metros · Above median: 8,811,195
metro-area population: 223
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,869
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (13/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Charlottesville ranks #176 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 99.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,824/mo, median salary $70,567; LiveAbility Score 52.4/100, strongest in job market and safety.

Signature: BEA RPP 99.1 ranks #291 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 99.1 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,824/mo.

LiveAbility 52.4/100 keeps Charlottesville in the middle third (#176 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Charlottesville area is 96,390.

Charlottesville vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

52 Top 46% higher than 54% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Charlottesville housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Charlottesville MSA; housing RPP 107.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,824/mo.

Studio

$1,421

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,602

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,824

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,218

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,731

/month

Charlottesville wages and employment

Charlottesville posts 96,390 total employment with median salary $70,567 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$70,567

Mean Salary

$74,983

Total Employment

96,390

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$99,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$30,150
Retail Salespersons	$34,210
General and Operations Managers	$107,200
Waiters and Waitresses	$44,030

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Charlottesville area from NCES.

Schools

1,869

Enrollment

1,253,620

Student:Teacher

13.9:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Charlottesville area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,407

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,169

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,975

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Charlottesville's composite Life Score is 47.6/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

25/100

Weak

Wages

81/100

Elite

Rent

13/100

Bottom decile

Crime

81/100

Elite

Schools

23/100

Weak

Childcare

54/100

Average

Environment

47/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Charlottesville ranks #176 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 52.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (81/100)

Job market

81
Safety

81
Schools

77
Climate

75
Air quality

72
Cost of living

25
Low hazard

17
Housing

13

What this shows Charlottesville's strongest dimensions are job market and safety; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 13/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Charlottesville to

Jackson Jacksonville Jacksonville Janesville-Beloit Jefferson City Johnson City

Metros near Charlottesville on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Charlottesville on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Charlottesville cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Charlottesville wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Charlottesville?

Charlottesville runs a $70,567 median salary at a 99.1 cost index, ranking #176 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Charlottesville's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Charlottesville head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Charlottesville
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.