Charlottesville-area population has grown 3.2 percent since 2020

We are two-fifths of the way through the way between federal counts of the United States population and demographers at the University of Virginia have released their estimates for the Commonwealth’s population as of July 1, 2024.

The six localities that make up the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission have gained 8,575 new residents or a 3.2 percent increase. The estimate for the TJPDC is 275,848.

“The estimates show the region growing at close to twice the rate as Virginia has since 2020, though slower than the Harrisonburg and Richmond metro areas,” said Hamilton Lombard with the Weldon Cooper Center of Public Service at UVA. “Within the region Charlottesville has had a small amount of growth, largely from the new dorms built in the city, while Albemarle is growing at a similar rate as during the 2010s.”

Louisa County leads the way with an estimate of 41,428, a 10.2 percent increase since 2020. That’s a total of 3,832 new residents. Louisa is the third-fastest growing locality in Virginia.

“Louisa County is fortunate to have a strong and diversified economy, world-class schools, natural resources like Lake Anna, and so much more”, said Duane Adams, chair of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors. “Our growth, like that of other localities, underscores the need for effective government which carefully balances citizen needs, effective service provisioning, and the prudent fiscal management of public dollars.”

Adams said one of Louisa’s top priorities are short-term and long-term planning.

Greene County is the second fastest growing locality in the TJPDC region with a 5.7 percent increase in population to 21,717. That’s 1,165 new residents.

Percentages are a relative form of measurement. For instance, Albemarle’s growth rate since 2020 is 4.8 percent for a total population estimate of 117,790 as of July 1, 2024. That’s an increase of 5,395 people.

Fluvanna has grown at a 4.2 percent rate for a total of 28,382 people, an increase of 1,133 over four years.

Lombard said increases are due to migration from Northern Virginia as well as the northeast corridor.

Nelson County also grew but at a very small rate of 0.1 percent, or 13 people. The estimate for July 1, 2024 is 14,788.

“Nelson County had the highest rate of remote work in Virginia before the pandemic,” Lombard said. “The county still has Virginia’s highest rate of remote work outside Northern Virginia, likely in part due to more remote workers moving to it.”

The figures for Charlottesville as well as other college towns are a little different.

“Across the country, localities with relatively large college populations, including some Virginia localities, were often undercounted in the April 1st, 2020 Census Count,” reads a note in the spreadsheet with all of the data. “In order to correct this undercount, we have benchmarked the 2020 population estimates on the Weldon Cooper Center estimates instead.”

With that caveat, Charlottesville has increased 1.4 percent for a total of 51,743 residents, up from 51,050.

Virginia’s population has increased 1.9 percent since the 2020 Census for a total population of 8,811,195. That is 166,468 more people.

To the south, Buckingham County experienced negative growth with a decrease of 88 people or -0.5 percent. The estimate for July 1, 2024 is 16,736,

To the west, Augusta County added 414 people, or 0.5 percent, for a total of 77,901. The City of Waynesboro increased by 3.3 percent to a total of 22,938. That’s a 3.3 percent increase. Staunton’s growth was also much lower at 0.9 percent for a total of 25,971.

The fastest growing county is New Kent County which grew from 22,945 people in 2020 to 26,308 in 2024. That’s a 16.8 percent increase. Next is Goochland County with a growth rate of 11.2 percent.

You can view the raw data here.

Before you go: This article was originally sent out as part of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter in the January 27, 2025 edition. Both are functions of Town Crier Productions. You can support the work by purchasing a paid subscription or contributing monthly through Patreon. You can also send in a check or send an email, but drop me a line first.