Is Amherst Town cheaper than Charlottesville?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Amherst Town and Charlottesville metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Amherst Town or Charlottesville?

Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $81,732 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 17% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Amherst Town or Charlottesville?

A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $81,534 in Amherst Town.

Which has cheaper rent, Amherst Town or Charlottesville?

Amherst Town has cheaper rent — a median of $1,425/mo versus $1,542/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Amherst Town vs Charlottesville

Metro-area medians — Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area vs Charlottesville, VA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Charlottesville comes out ahead, winning 4 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Amherst Town and Charlottesville cost about the same to live in, but Charlottesville households earn about 17% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Amherst Town, MA

$57,564

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$57,424

real value after local prices

Charlottesville, VA

$57,747

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$58,245

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Charlottesville leaves you about $821/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Amherst Town

Charlottesville

Livability (CityLedger)

62/100

84/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

100.2

99.1

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$81,534

$96,621

Median household income

$81,732

$95,796

Median rent

$1,425/mo

$1,542/mo

Median home value

$413,400

$466,600

Unemployment

2.7%

Bachelor's degree or higher

54.6%

56.2%

Average commute

22.6 min

24.3 min

Air quality (median AQI)

—

Avg temperature

49°F

56°F

Choose Amherst Town for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Average commute

Full Amherst Town profile →

Choose Charlottesville for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Unemployment

Full Charlottesville profile →

Amherst Town vs Charlottesville — frequently asked

Is Amherst Town cheaper than Charlottesville?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Amherst Town and Charlottesville metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Amherst Town or Charlottesville?: Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $81,732 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 17% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Amherst Town or Charlottesville?: A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $81,534 in Amherst Town.
Which has cheaper rent, Amherst Town or Charlottesville?: Amherst Town has cheaper rent — a median of $1,425/mo versus $1,542/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).