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Charlottesville vs Pantops

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: size (9.7× in Charlottesville) and household income (+70% in Pantops).

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Charlottesville, VAA colonial town, settled 1762Virginia · 45,437 people
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Pantops, VAAn outdoors townVirginia · 4,665 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

CharlottesvilleA colonial town, settled 1762
HistorySettled in 176271 places on the National Register Work34,483 jobsbased in Charlottesville, a regional job hub HealthHealthier than 75%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Charlottesville →
PantopsAn outdoors town
Outdoors#4 most trails in VA10 miles of trails across 1 parks and preserves Work5,753 jobsbased in Pantops, a regional job hub HealthHealthier than 98%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Pantops →
The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Size9.7×
Charlottesville is the bigger place
Charlottesville 45,437Pantops 4,665
Household income+70%
Households in Pantops earn more
Pantops $127,552Charlottesville $74,824
Work in town+27.2 pts
More of Charlottesville’s workers stay in town
Charlottesville 34%Pantops 6.8%
Typical home built38 yrs
Charlottesville’s homes are older
Pantops 2006Charlottesville 1968
Trails2.2×
Charlottesville has more miles of trail
Charlottesville 23.1 miPantops 10.4 mi
Age 65++11.8 pts
Pantops has more people 65 and up
Pantops 25.3%Charlottesville 13.5%
★ What stands out · Report cards

Pantops places higher on 11 of 18 VA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Virginia ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety
DCharlottesvilleSafer than 13% of U.S. towns –PantopsNot graded
Schools
CCharlottesvilleBetter than 26% of districts in the state APantopsBetter than 89% of districts in the state
Health
B+CharlottesvilleHealthier than 75% of U.S. towns A+PantopsHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns
7Charlottesville
11Pantops

Lists won, of 18 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 249 towns #206#36 Lowest depressionHealth · 255 towns #203#29 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 255 towns #129#14 Fewest smokersHealth · 255 towns #109#2 HealthiestHealth · 254 towns #120#27 Highest incomeIncome · 255 towns #178#85 Most activeHealth · 255 towns #109#24 Most walkableOutdoors · 255 towns #30#89

Left end = #1 in Virginia. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Charlottesville’s rankings →

Where they are

Charlottesville and Pantops share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

CharlottesvillePantopsCharlottesvillePantops
Charlottesville ↔ Pantops2.2 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
472 Pantops residents work in Charlottesville (25.2% of its workers)
446 Charlottesville residents work in Pantops (2.5% of its workers)
Work & commute in Pantops →
Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Charlottesville$3,050/mo
Typical home $515K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.80% · or rent about $1,540/mo · Housing →
Pantops$3,090/mo
Typical home $523K (Census) · tax rate 0.79% · or rent about $1,881/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
CharlottesvillePantops
Snow a year17″17″
January low28°F28°F
July high87°F87°F
Growing season (days)222d222d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)24th32nd
Outdoors & history
CharlottesvillePantops
Trails23 mi10 mi
Conserved land10.2%8.4%
Settled1762—
National Register places711
Archive photos—7
Community
CharlottesvillePantops
Library hours a week68 hrs—
Colleges in town1—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

CharlottesvillePantops
People
Population 45,437Highest 4,665Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +7.1% VA: +7.9% —
Median age 33.1±0.4Lowest 15% below VA 40.3±2.7Highest 3% above VA
Kids under 18 16.5%±1Lowest VA: 21.7% 18.2%±4Highest VA: 21.7%
Pantops and Charlottesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 13.5%±1.1Lowest VA: 16.7% 25.3%±3.2Highest VA: 16.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 62.5%Lowest VA: 42.2% 66.1%Highest VA: 42.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 21.7%±1.2Highest VA: 6.9% 6.3%±3.2Lowest VA: 6.9%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $74,824±$5kLowest 20% below VA $127,552±$24kHighest 37% above VA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $486,700±$16kLowest 27% above VA $522,900±$55kHighest 36% above VA
Pantops and Charlottesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,540±$63Lowest about the VA average $1,881±$191Highest 19% above VA
Property taxmedian, yearly $3,915Lowest 40% above VA $4,127Highest 48% above VA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 55.5%±5.2Lowest VA: 48.5% 58.7%±14.2Highest VA: 48.5%
Pantops and Charlottesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 19.6%Highest VA: 9.9% 3.5%Lowest VA: 9.9%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 44.2%Lowest VA: 67.3% 46%Highest VA: 67.3%
Typical home builtmedian year 1968Lowest 16 yrs older than VA 2006Highest 22 yrs newer than VA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 17 minLowest 38% below VA 19 minHighest 30% below VA
Work from home 21.4%±2.4Lowest VA: 18.3% 24.9%±6.7Highest VA: 18.3%
Pantops and Charlottesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 34%Highest 6.8%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 2.3 miLowest 3.8 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.96Lowest 3.07Highest
Top workplaceoutside town University of Virginia (17%)Charlottesville (25%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 3% work in Pantops25% work in Charlottesville
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 10.2%Highest 8.4%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 23.1 miHighest 10.4 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.3 miLowest 4.3 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 28Highest 1Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 117Highest 81.4Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #145 of 219 in VA—
School district Albemarle County Public Schools · Charlottesville City Public Schools—
High school in town Charlottesville High—
Students per teacherat that high school 12.5 —
Virginia average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Charlottesville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Charlottesville’s Town Square.

Pantops neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Pantops’s Town Square.

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Bordering Charlottesville

U
+ Compare
University of Virginia9,065 people · $443K homes

Towns like Charlottesville

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Fredericksburg28,873 people · $484K homes
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Blacksburg45,446 people · $446K homes
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Herndon24,672 people · $599K homes
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Leesburg49,171 people · $668K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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