Metro Life Score
Charlottesville, VA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 44th percentile of the national corpus.
- 48.3
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #215
- of 387 metros
- 44%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Charlottesville is below-median composite Life Score — #215 of 387 (48.3/100, grade B-, 44th percentile). Carried by safety at 89/100; held back most by rent at 13/100.
- 44th
- composite percentile
- #215
- of 387 peers
- 25th
- cost dimension percentile
- 77th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature wages
Charlottesville: pay power is the signature
Charlottesville stamps MID · SAFE-LED with wages at the 77th percentile of the metro corpus (HIGH) — ahead of its cost mark (DEAR, 25th) and composite #215. Safety (89/100) amplifies the lead; Rent (13/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Charlottesville, VA ranks #215 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #291 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 99.1 (rent-RPP 107.0). BLS median salary $70,567, 96,390 jobs (Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,824/mo (studio $1,421).
FBI UCR (VA): 223 violent, 1590 property/100K. NCES: 13.7:1 ratio, 0.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,445/yr. EPA: 35 Superfund sites (VA).
Where Charlottesville sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
48 44th percentile higher than 44% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 48.3 is built
Charlottesville's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Charlottesville scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are VA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Charlottesville With...
Ranking Context
Charlottesville outranks 44% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #212 | Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 48.7 | B- |
| #213 | Bloomington, IL | 48.7 | B- |
| #214 | Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 48.9 | B- |
| #215 | Charlottesville, VA | 48.3 | B- |
| #216 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 48.2 | B- |
| #217 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 48.2 | C+ |
| #218 | Jacksonville, NC | 48.1 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Charlottesville, VA is bottom 45% lowest-quality nationally but only bottom 25% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
VA Metro Scores
Read with Charlottesville
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Charlottesville (MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 48.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 48.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Jacksonville, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 48.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Niles, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 48.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 25/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 25/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Charlottesville, VA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Charlottesville's middle-third Life Score
Charlottesville scores 48.3/100 overall, but Safety (88.6) and Rent (13.2) sit 75.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Charlottesville's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Blacksburg is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Blacksburg
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.