Is Burlington cheaper than Charlottesville?

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

Which has higher household income, Burlington or Charlottesville?

Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $89,615 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 7% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Burlington or Charlottesville?

A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $88,773 in Burlington.

Which has cheaper rent, Burlington or Charlottesville?

Charlottesville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,542/mo versus $1,631/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Burlington vs Charlottesville

Metro-area medians — Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area vs Charlottesville, VA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Charlottesville comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.

Burlington and Charlottesville cost about the same to live in, but Charlottesville households earn about 7% 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

Burlington, VT

$58,409

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$57,860

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 $385/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

Burlington

Charlottesville

Livability (CityLedger)

77/100

84/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

100.9

99.1

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$88,773

$96,621

Median household income

$89,615

$95,796

Median rent

$1,631/mo

$1,542/mo

Median home value

$438,100

$466,600

Unemployment

2.4%

2.7%

Bachelor's degree or higher

50.9%

56.2%

Average commute

21.7 min

24.3 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

48°F

56°F

Choose Burlington for

+ Median home value
+ Unemployment
+ Average commute
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Burlington profile →

Choose Charlottesville for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Median rent
+ Bachelor's degree or higher

Full Charlottesville profile →

Burlington vs Charlottesville — frequently asked

Is Burlington cheaper than Charlottesville?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Burlington and Charlottesville metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Burlington or Charlottesville?: Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $89,615 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 7% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Burlington or Charlottesville?: A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $88,773 in Burlington.
Which has cheaper rent, Burlington or Charlottesville?: Charlottesville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,542/mo versus $1,631/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).