PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Charlottesville, VA

44.6
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#274
of 387 metros
29%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Charlottesville ranks #274 of 387 US metros, ahead of 29% - carried by its safety (81/100) and held back most by rent (13/100).

81
strongest: Safety
81
then: Wages
13
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Charlottesville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

45 29th percentile higher than 29% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Charlottesville Life Score

Charlottesville's composite score of 44.6 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #274 of 387, ahead of 29% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (81/100) and Wages (81/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (13/100) and Environment (17/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.9:1 ratio, 0.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,407/yr. EPA: 35 Superfund sites (VA). Ranks #271-#277 below.

Dimension detail

How Charlottesville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 25/100 (20%)
Wages 81/100 (20%)
Rent 13/100 (15%)
Safety 81/100 (15%)
Schools 23/100 (10%)
Childcare 54/100 (10%)
Environment 17/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

99.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$70,567
Avg Median Salary
$1,824
2BR Fair Market Rent
223
Violent Crime/100K (VA)
13.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,407
Infant Childcare/yr (VA)
35
Superfund Sites (VA)
96,390
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Charlottesville With...

Charlottesville vs Lynchburg Compare → Charlottesville vs Staunton Compare → Charlottesville vs Virginia Beach Compare → Charlottesville vs Wildwood Compare → Charlottesville vs Waterloo Compare → Charlottesville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Charlottesville outranks 29% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#271 Springfield, MA 44.8 C
#272 Pittsfield, MA 45.0 C
#273 Jonesboro, AR 45.1 C
#274 Charlottesville, VA 44.6 C
#275 Athens-Clarke County, GA 44.6 C
#276 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 44.5 C
#277 Columbia, MO 44.5 C

VA Metro Scores

Lynchburg, VA A- 59.3 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA B+ 57.4 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC B+ 57.2 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA B 55.0 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA B 53.9 Richmond, VA B 52.8

Using Charlottesville's Life Score

Charlottesville is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (81/100) and its weakest is rent (13/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Charlottesville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Charlottesville lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Charlottesville's biggest strengths? ▼
Charlottesville's strongest dimensions are Safety (81/100), Wages (81/100), Childcare (54/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Charlottesville's weakest areas? ▼
Charlottesville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (13/100), Environment (17/100), Schools (23/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Charlottesville compared to the national average? ▼
Charlottesville's Regional Price Parity is 99.1 (0.9% less than national); rent RPP 107.0.
What is the average salary in Charlottesville? ▼
Charlottesville median salary: $70,567, 96,390 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Charlottesville's 44.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.