Charlottesville metropolitan area


The Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area is a Metropolitan Statistical Area in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia as defined by the Office of Management and Budget.
The combined population is 221,524, not including Buckingham County, which was removed from the MSA in the 2020 census cycle.

MSA components

Note: Since a constitutional change in 1871, all cities in the state are independent cities. The OMB considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents for the purpose of defining MSAs in Virginia.
There are four counties and one independent city that contribute to the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Communities

Places with more than 10,000 inhabitants

Places with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

Places with less than 1,000 inhabitants

Unincorporated places

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 174,021 people, 67,575 households, and 42,840 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 80.77% White, 14.07% African American, 0.16% Native American, 2.68% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.80% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.23% of the population.
The median income for a household in the MSA was $42,166, and the median income for a family was $50,225. Males had a median income of $32,974 versus $26,579 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $21,574.
As of the 2020 census, there were 221,524 people residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71% White, 14.2% African American, 1.6% Native American, 6.8% Asian, and 0.2% Pacific Islander. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.4% of the population.

Politics

YearRepublicanDemocraticOthers
196054.1% 8,897 45.0% 7,4040.9% 149
196446.6% 10,02352.9% 11,370 0.5% 98
196848.4% 13.012 30.0% 8,03021.7% 5,841
197261.6% 19,222 36.7% 11,4521.8% 551
197649.9% 19,664 48.9% 18,8922.2% 872
198048.2% 21,504 42.4% 18,9189.6% 4,213
198459.3% 28,642 40.2% 19.1420.5% 247
198854.6% 28,117 44.2% 22,7671.3% 653
199241.4% 25,83445.9% 28,644 12.7% 7,979
199645.0% 27,11548.0% 28,903 6.9% 4,178
200048.7% 33,575 45.7% 32,1296.4% 4,524
200447.4% 39,92851.5% 43,374 1.2% 909
200839.6% 39,70159.2% 59,247 1.2% 1,208
201242.3% 47,90456.0% 63,371 1.7% 1,908
201636.8% 43,29356.7% 66,747 6.8% 7,952
202036.2% 48,27561.8% 82,537 2.0% 2,643

The Charlottesville metropolitan area leans Democratic. Similar to other college towns, Charlottesville City is a Democratic stronghold. Albemarle County leans Democratic, paralleling the entire region, since it houses urban, suburban, exurban, and rural pockets. Fluvanna and Greene counties are Republican strongholds as they are composed of suburban, exurban, and rural areas, which vote more conservative than their urban counterparts. Although Nelson County is almost entirely rural, it is the most moderate jurisdiction in the region, voting for the Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and the Republican nominee Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, respectively.
The entire region, apart from Greene County and a sliver of Albemarle County, which are located in Virginia's 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Abigail Spanberger, is located in Virginia's 5th congressional district, represented by Republican Bob Good. The 7th district has an even Cook PVI score while the 5th district has a R+7 score.