Metro area · Virginia

Charlottesville, VA metro area

Charlottesville, VA is a metropolitan area of 5 counties in Virginia, home to 228,597 residents. Charlottesville, VA metro area has a quality-of-life score of 96 out of 100 (very high), ranking #39 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Virginia it ranks #1 of 12. It ranks best on flu vaccinations (high), primary care physicians (high) and bachelor's degree or higher (high). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and home price to income ratio (high).

96Very high
Quality-of-life score
#39 of 925 metro and micro areas
Virginia
#1 of 12 in VA
Population
228,597 (2025)
Land area
1,645 mi²
Density
139.0 /mi²
CBSA code
16820

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Charlottesville, VA metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety77#212/924
  • Economy97#29/925
  • Housing25#694/925
  • Health98#19/925
  • Healthcare94#54/923
  • Environment77#214/917
  • Education96#39/925
  • Infrastructure89#104/925
  • Community75#228/925
  • Leisure & amenities92#72/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Charlottesville, VA metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Metro and micro areas like Charlottesville, VA metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Charlottesville, VA metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Charlottesville, VA

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Albemarle CountyCentral county97118,356
  2. Charlottesville cityCentral county9144,388
  3. Fluvanna CountyOutlying county8328,975
  4. Greene CountyOutlying county7221,958
  5. Nelson CountyOutlying county5714,920

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. CharlottesvillePrincipal city45,437

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Charlottesville45,437
  2. Lake Monticello10,662
  3. Crozet9,289
  4. University of Virginia9,065
  5. Hollymead8,482
  6. Pantops4,665
  7. Piney Mountain2,288
  8. Rivanna2,211
  9. Nellysford1,584
  10. Twin Lakes1,562
  11. Ruckersville1,399
  12. Rio1,252
  13. Earlysville1,222
  14. Arrington915
  15. Ivy794
  16. Esmont751
  17. Stanardsville740
  18. Wintergreen589
  19. Scottsville510
  20. North Garden475
  21. Shipman472
  22. Lovingston455
  23. Keswick402
  24. Afton266

Other metro and micro areas in Virginia

Areas based in Virginia, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

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