Is Charlottesville cheaper than Durham?

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

Which has higher household income, Charlottesville or Durham?

Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $83,542 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 15% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Charlottesville or Durham?

A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $85,621 in Durham.

Which has cheaper rent, Charlottesville or Durham?

Charlottesville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,542/mo versus $1,598/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Charlottesville vs Durham

Metro-area medians — Charlottesville, VA Metro Area vs Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Charlottesville comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Charlottesville and Durham cost about the same to live in, but Charlottesville households earn about 15% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville.

Their widest everyday difference: Charlottesville has cleaner air on a typical day — a median AQI of 40 versus 51.

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

Charlottesville, VA

$57,747

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$58,245

real value after local prices

Durham, NC

$58,668

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$60,128

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Durham leaves you about $1,883/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

Charlottesville

Durham

Livability (CityLedger)

84/100

70/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

99.1

97.6

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$96,621

$85,621

Median household income

$95,796

$83,542

Median rent

$1,542/mo

$1,598/mo

Median home value

$466,600

$441,300

Unemployment

2.7%

3.2%

Bachelor's degree or higher

56.2%

54.7%

Average commute

24.3 min

24.4 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

56°F

59°F

Choose Charlottesville for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Median rent
+ Unemployment
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Charlottesville profile →

Choose Durham for

+ Median home value

Full Durham profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Charlottesville and Durham on cost, income, size, and education.

Charlottesville vs Fort Collins→Charlottesville vs Amherst Town→Charlottesville vs Ann Arbor→Durham vs Madison→Durham vs Fort Collins→Durham vs Ann Arbor→

Charlottesville vs Durham — frequently asked

Is Charlottesville cheaper than Durham?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Charlottesville and Durham metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Charlottesville or Durham?: Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $83,542 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 15% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Charlottesville or Durham?: A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $85,621 in Durham.
Which has cheaper rent, Charlottesville or Durham?: Charlottesville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,542/mo versus $1,598/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).