RioVA
A town of 1,252. A regional job hub with 3,123 jobs.
Is Rio a good place to live?
Rio’s best subject grades are an A for walkability, health, and schools; its weakest is a D− for cost of living. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Rio, where Virginia’s towns sit at 7.7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 3 of Virginia’s 370 towns score lower on cost of living. Only 3 of Virginia’s 372 towns score lower on the outdoors. Rio has 4 places on the National Register. Rio has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Rio stand out
Where Rio beats most towns.
1,252 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Rio grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Rio is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Rio: who provides what
Rio is unincorporated, so Albemarle County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Rio.
A job hub: Rio has 4.0 jobs for every working resident and draws in 3,087 commuters
Most working residents leave Rio for work: only 5% work in town. Rio’s median household income is $56,000, below both Virginia’s towns ($102,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). The average trip to work in Rio is 21 minutes.
| Rio | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $56,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.7% | 4.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Rio ranks healthier than 93% of the country’s towns
Rio beats the Virginia average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9.8% of adults report frequent physical distress in Rio.
| Rio | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Rio | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.7% | 6.2% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 3.8% | 6.1% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.2% | 76.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Low risk in Rio, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Rio, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Rio 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.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fewer of Rio’s households own their home than in the typical Virginia or U.S. town
2.5% of Rio households own their home.
| Rio | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 2.5% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,688 a month | $1,762 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Shenandoah National Park and 13 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rio. Close and well known come first.
14 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
21 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
4 mi Stadium & arenaScott Stadium
3 mi Stadium & arenaJohn Paul Jones Arena32 mi Scenic driveSkyline Drive
3 mi GardenMarket Street ParkPhoto credits
Shenandoah 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 · Skyline Drive: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Market Street Park: Chad Fennell, CC BY 2.0
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Everything we know about Rio
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Rio
About 14 of every 100 Rio residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
Every workday, about 3,087 people come to Rio for work
Where Rio’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Rio
Unincorporated community in Virginia, United States
Rio ( RY-oh) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. It is directly northeast of Charlottesville. As of the 2020 census, Rio had a population of 2,076.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 463 ft