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Pantops vs Charlottesville

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

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Pantops, VAAn outdoors townVirginia · 4,665 people
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Charlottesville, VAA colonial town, settled 1762Virginia · 45,437 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.

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

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

Highest graduation rateSchools · 249 towns #36#206 Lowest depressionHealth · 255 towns #29#203 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 255 towns #14#129 Fewest smokersHealth · 255 towns #2#109 HealthiestHealth · 254 towns #27#120 Highest incomeIncome · 255 towns #85#178 Most activeHealth · 255 towns #24#109 Lowest obesityHealth · 255 towns #44#103

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

Where they are

Pantops and Charlottesville share a border

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

PantopsCharlottesvillePantopsCharlottesville
Pantops ↔ Charlottesville2.2 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.

Pantops$3,090/mo
Typical home $523K (Census) · tax rate 0.79% · or rent about $1,881/mo · Housing →
Charlottesville$3,050/mo
Typical home $515K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.80% · or rent about $1,540/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
PantopsCharlottesville
Snow a year17″17″
January low28°F28°F
July high87°F87°F
Growing season (days)222d222d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)32nd24th
Outdoors & history
PantopsCharlottesville
Trails10 mi23 mi
Conserved land8.4%10.2%
Settled—1762
National Register places171
Archive photos7—
Community
PantopsCharlottesville
Library hours a week—68 hrs
Colleges in town—1
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.

PantopsCharlottesville
People
Population 4,665Lowest 45,437Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census — +7.1% VA: +7.9%
Median age 40.3±2.7Highest 3% above VA 33.1±0.4Lowest 15% below VA
Kids under 18 18.2%±4Highest VA: 21.7% 16.5%±1Lowest 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+ 25.3%±3.2Highest VA: 16.7% 13.5%±1.1Lowest VA: 16.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 66.1%Highest VA: 42.2% 62.5%Lowest VA: 42.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.3%±3.2Lowest VA: 6.9% 21.7%±1.2Highest VA: 6.9%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $127,552±$24kHighest 37% above VA $74,824±$5kLowest 20% below VA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $522,900±$55kHighest 36% above VA $486,700±$16kLowest 27% 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 $1,881±$191Highest 19% above VA $1,540±$63Lowest about the VA average
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,127Highest 48% above VA $3,915Lowest 40% above VA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 58.7%±14.2Highest VA: 48.5% 55.5%±5.2Lowest 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 3.5%Lowest VA: 9.9% 19.6%Highest VA: 9.9%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 46%Highest VA: 67.3% 44.2%Lowest VA: 67.3%
Typical home builtmedian year 2006Highest 22 yrs newer than VA 1968Lowest 16 yrs older than VA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 19 minHighest 30% below VA 17 minLowest 38% below VA
Work from home 24.9%±6.7Highest VA: 18.3% 21.4%±2.4Lowest 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 6.8%Lowest 34%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.8 miHighest 2.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 3.07Highest 1.96Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Charlottesville (25%)University of Virginia (17%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 25% work in Charlottesville3% work in Pantops
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 8.4%Lowest 10.2%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 10.4 miLowest 23.1 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 4.3 miHighest 2.3 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 28Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 81.4Lowest 117Highest
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.

Pantops neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Pantops’s Town Square.

Charlottesville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Charlottesville’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Pantops

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Ashland7,772 people · $293K 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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