Is Charlottesville cheaper than Santa Fe?

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

Which has higher household income, Charlottesville or Santa Fe?

Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $88,719 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 8% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Charlottesville or Santa Fe?

A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $89,827 in Santa Fe.

Which has cheaper rent, Charlottesville or Santa Fe?

Charlottesville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,542/mo versus $1,586/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Charlottesville vs Santa Fe

Metro-area medians — Charlottesville, VA Metro Area vs Santa Fe, NM Metro Area — not the cities proper.

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

Charlottesville and Santa Fe cost about the same to live in, but Charlottesville households earn about 8% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville.

Their widest everyday difference: Charlottesville has the tighter job market — 2.7% unemployment versus 3.5%.

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

Santa Fe, NM

$58,938

take-home / yr · 21% to tax

$59,674

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Santa Fe leaves you about $1,429/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

Santa Fe

Livability (CityLedger)

84/100

75/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

99.1

98.8

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$96,621

$89,827

Median household income

$95,796

$88,719

Median rent

$1,542/mo

$1,586/mo

Median home value

$466,600

$473,800

Unemployment

2.7%

3.5%

Bachelor's degree or higher

56.2%

49.4%

Average commute

24.3 min

25.5 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

56°F

52°F

Choose Charlottesville for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher
+ Average commute
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Charlottesville profile →

Choose Santa Fe for

No clear edge

Full Santa Fe profile →

More comparisons

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

Charlottesville vs Fort Collins→Charlottesville vs Amherst Town→Charlottesville vs Ann Arbor→Santa Fe vs Barnstable Town→Santa Fe vs Hilton Head Island→Santa Fe vs Kingston→

Charlottesville vs Santa Fe — frequently asked

Is Charlottesville cheaper than Santa Fe?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Charlottesville and Santa Fe metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Charlottesville or Santa Fe?: Charlottesville has the higher median household income — $95,796 versus $88,719 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 8% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Charlottesville or Santa Fe?: A paycheck stretches further in Charlottesville. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $96,621 there versus $89,827 in Santa Fe.
Which has cheaper rent, Charlottesville or Santa Fe?: Charlottesville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,542/mo versus $1,586/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).