Best places to live in Virginia
4 Virginia metros scored on the default family weighting — schools and safety heaviest, then affordability, climate, college pipeline and jobs. Change the weights on the ranking engine to see your own order.
Who lives in Virginia
Population-weighted racial and ethnic composition across the 4 tracked Virginia metros, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 56.6%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 7.8%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 26%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 4%
- Other or two or more
- 5.6%
Diversity index 74/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
| # | Metro | Score | US rank | Typical home | Schools | Safety | Climate | Diversity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlottesville | 69.1 | #1 of 103 | $464k | 86 | 73 | 26° / 87° | 56 |
| 2 | Richmond | 66.0 | #6 of 103 | $392k | 80 | 73 | 28° / 89° | 77 |
| 3 | Virginia Beach | 61.2 | #12 of 103 | $371k | 61 | 73 | 33° / 87° | 78 |
| 4 | Roanoke | 52.9 | #44 of 103 | $298k | 68 | 73 | 27° / 87° | 51 |
Figures are compiled estimates. Methodology and sources.