What is the cost of living in Harrisonburg?

Harrisonburg has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 94.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 82.3, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,322/month.

What is the median salary in Harrisonburg?

The median salary in Harrisonburg is $62,347 annually (mean: $66,028). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers.

How safe is Harrisonburg?

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

What are the schools like in Harrisonburg?

The state of VA has 1,869 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.7:1. About 40.9% are Title I schools. Charter schools make up 0.4% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Harrisonburg?

Infant center-based childcare in the Harrisonburg area averages $10,445 per year. Preschool averages $7,999/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Harrisonburg a good place to relocate?

Harrisonburg has a Life Score of 47.9/100 (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 Harrisonburg sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Harrisonburg ranks #186 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

Harrisonburg, VA

BEA RPP 94.9 sits mid-pack (#219 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

94.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,322
2BR rent / mo: $62,347
Median salary: 51.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Harrisonburg ranks #186 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (51.9/100), with its strongest marks in safety and schools.

#186
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: low hazard (17/100). 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), Harrisonburg ranks #186 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 94.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,322/mo, median salary $62,347; LiveAbility Score 51.9/100, strongest in safety and schools.

Signature: BEA RPP 94.9 sits mid-pack (#219 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 94.9 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,322/mo.

LiveAbility 51.9/100 keeps Harrisonburg in the middle third (#186 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Harrisonburg area is 56,170.

Harrisonburg 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 48% higher than 52% 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

Harrisonburg housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Harrisonburg MSA; housing RPP 82.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,322/mo.

Studio

$1,050

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,057

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,322

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,801

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,125

/month

Harrisonburg wages and employment

Harrisonburg posts 56,170 total employment with median salary $62,347.

Median Salary

$62,347

Mean Salary

$66,028

Total Employment

56,170

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,240
Retail Salespersons	$33,350
Stockers and Order Fillers	$38,130
Cashiers	$28,980
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	$34,180

Schools & Education

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

Schools

1,869

Enrollment

1,253,620

Student:Teacher

13.7:1

Title I %

40.9%

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$10,445

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,194

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,999

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Harrisonburg's composite Life Score is 47.9/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

44/100

Below average

Wages

37/100

Below average

Rent

49/100

Average

Crime

80/100

Elite

Schools

24/100

Weak

Childcare

54/100

Average

Environment

47/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Harrisonburg ranks #186 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 51.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (80/100)

Safety

80
Schools

76
Air quality

61
Climate

58
Housing

49
Cost of living

44
Job market

37
Low hazard

17

What this shows Harrisonburg's strongest dimensions are safety and schools; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 17/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Harrisonburg to

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Omaha Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Oshkosh-Neenah Owensboro Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura

Metros near Harrisonburg on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Harrisonburg 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

† No air quality reading on file for this metro, so its score is built from fewer than all 8 dimensions: the missing dimension is omitted and the remaining weights renormalized. It is not directly comparable with a full 8-dimension score.

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

Harrisonburg cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Harrisonburg 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 →

Weighing a move to Harrisonburg?

Here is where Harrisonburg stands: a $62,347 median salary, a 94.9 cost index and a LiveAbility rank of #186 of 387.

See exactly what Harrisonburg's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Set Harrisonburg beside another metro and read the same dimensions across. Compare Harrisonburg
In this corpus the closest related metro is Abilene; see how the two compare. 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

Read the cost, salary and score figures as federal-data percentiles, not as advice to move.