Profiles released for community well-being in Albemarle and Charlottesville

When Jim Ryan was in his first year as president of the University of Virginia, he convened a group of local officials to identify ways to improve relations between the public institution of higher learning and the localities in which it is embedded.

One of the outcomes of the President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships was the establishment of the Center for Community Partnerships. This week this entity has released community profiles for Albemarle and Charlottesville that use data from the American Human Development Index.

“Along with AHDI, the reports include sections on demographics, health, education, and economic security and housing,” reads the center’s website on this initiative. “These measures and outcomes are a resource for residents and leaders to support understanding of our collective well-being and point to challenges we can address together.”

The profiles were published in July and are available either individually or in a combined form. The introduction explains how the two communities are intertwined and require cross-jurisdictional cooperation and collaboration.

“Multiple systems that structure lived experiences of residents—job markets, housing markets, health care infrastructure, and more—operate regionally,” reads a website for the combined form. “In addition to coordination across local governments, the combined Charlottesville-Albemarle region benefits from a rich web of civic organizations, service providers, and regional authorities.”

Turning to the AHDI, the entire United States scores as 5.3 on the index that measures well-being on health, access to knowledge, and living standards.

The health measure is based on life expectancy. Nationwide this figure is 78 as measured by a look at county health rankings across the country. Life expectancy is 79 in Charlottesville and 82 in Albemarle County.

Access to knowledge refers to how much education someone has had. Nationwide at least 89 percent have at least a high school diploma. The figures are 93 percent for Charlottesville and 94 percent in Albemarle County. Data comes from The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey from 2023.

Living standards are measured by median earnings. Nationwide this figure is $44,587 and $49,405 across Virginia. Charlottesville’s median is below both figures at $38,285 and Albemarle’s is higher at $51,922.

The profile digs deeper into each other. Here are some other pieces of information:

• Between 2016 and 2024, the number of mental health doctors in Albemarle and Charlottesville increased from 299 per 100,000 residents to 478 per 100,000. This exceeds the rate of Virginia as a whole which went from 126 providers in 2016 to 243 in 2024.
• Between 2016 and 2024. The number of primary health care providers remains flat in Albemarle and Charlottesville at 180 per 100,0000 residents. There was a slight uptick to 191 per 100,000 in 2020 but that has subsided.
• Black households have significantly lower incomes than other demographic groups. The 2023 American Community Survey measured this at $48,200 for Black households, $80,200 for Hispanic households, $94,400 for Asian households, and $102,100 for white households.
• Over a quarter of households (27 percent) that rent are severely burdened, which means they’re spending more than half of their income on the place they live. Another 24 percent are considered burdened and pay between 30 percent and 49 percent of their income.
• A measurement of commuting patterns finds that the proportion of people who travel to work from outside Albemarle and Charlottesville remains steady. In both 2002 and 2022, 42 percent of employees traveled from another locality to work.

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the August 27, 2025 edition of the program. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.