Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Charlottesville's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades C, 208th among Virginia's 249 graded towns. It has 23 miles of trail and natural-hazard risk is low. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $511K, 5.5 years of the Charlottesville metro’s $94K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 71 places on the National Register. 34% of working residents work locally in Charlottesville, against 4.8% in Virginia’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District and Oak Lawn. Charlottesville's crime rate is higher than 87% of U.S. towns, with 122 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025.
Where Charlottesville beats most towns.
Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District
Its 71 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Virginia towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,838 in 1870, 46,553 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1817 and 6 maps from 1935 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Charlottesville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Charlottesville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Charlottesville.
Charlottesville is shaped by its college students and draws workers from Lake Monticello and beyond, but it reports property crime at about twice the Virginia rate.
Charlottesville’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile. Pen Park, at 265 acres with 3.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McIntire Park | 4.7 mi | 117 |
| 2. Pen Park | 3.1 mi | 265 |
| 3. Greenbrier Park | 1.4 mi | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Charlottesville City Public Schools. Three of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walker Upper ElementaryLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 570 | C− |
| Charlottesville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,438 | B |
| Community Lab SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 177 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
34,483 jobs are based in Charlottesville, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
About one in 3 of Charlottesville’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Charlottesville is 17 minutes. Jobs based in Charlottesville grew to 34,483 in 2023, 3,573 more than in 2013.
| Charlottesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 21% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Property crime runs at 28 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Virginia rate, most of it theft. Reported crimes fell from 1,728 to 1,366 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Charlottesville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 87% report less.
| Charlottesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Charlottesville beats the Virginia average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 27% of adults have high blood pressure in Charlottesville.
| Charlottesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Charlottesville | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.3% | 6.1% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 7.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.9% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 37 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Charlottesville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
44% of Charlottesville households own their home. The typical Charlottesville home is worth about $511,000, up 1.1% in a year, 24% above the Virginia typical home. 56% of Charlottesville renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Charlottesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 68% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 56% | 47% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,540 a month | $1,764 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Charlottesville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 27° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Charlottesville. Close and well known come first.
16 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
20 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
2 mi Stadium & arenaScott Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaJohn Paul Jones Arena
in town GardenMarket Street Park35 mi Scenic driveSkyline DriveShenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Scott Stadium: Mak7912, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Paul Jones Arena: Bob Mical, CC BY 2.0 · Market Street Park: Chad Fennell, CC BY 2.0 · Skyline Drive: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Charlottesville
College town 22 of every 100 Charlottesville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
71 places in Charlottesville on the National Register of Historic Places.
40 notable people were born in Charlottesville.
Independent city in Virginia, United States
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. The former capital of Virginia, it is named after Queen Charlotte. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 46,553. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the City of Charlottesville with Albemarle County for statistical purposes, bringing its population to approximately 160,000. Charlottesville is the heart of the Charlottesville metropolitan area, which includes Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, and Nelson counties. Charlottesville was the home of two U.S. presidents, Thomas Jef…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Charlottesville.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlottesville | #208 | C | D | D | C | B+ |
| University of Virginia | – | A | C | — | A | A |
| Pantops | #44 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
University of Virginia and Pantops report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Charlottesville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Charlottesville grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #208 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B+ for health, D for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
40 notable people were born here, including Rob Lowe and Camila Mendes.
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