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Towns / Virginia

Crozet, Virginia

Crozet is an unincorporated community of about 9,300 people in Albemarle County, Virginia. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 4.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Richmond, is about 76 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
9,289
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$547,200
Albemarle County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$129,417
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Charlottesville area
99.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Charlottesville, VA
To Richmond
76 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.9% below the U.S. average in the Charlottesville metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUniversity of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 76 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Crozet meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$547,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Albemarle County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,851 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$129,417U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
76%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,754 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
49%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
99.1U.S. average = 100 (the Charlottesville metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Charlottesville metro area, not Crozet alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
9,289The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
40.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
76%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
16%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (38%); professional and business services (18%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (9%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
27%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, VA, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Crozet, run by Albemarle County Public Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Virginia's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
87%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
24°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
16 a year
Nights at or below freezing
117 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.8 inches a year
Snow
11 inches a year
Elevation
679 feet

Weather station: Free Union (6 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: University of Virginia Medical Center, Harrisonburg, Richmond.

Albemarle County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Crozet Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail4 miles
  • Shenandoah National Park4 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway9 miles
  • Appomattox Court House National Historical Park45 miles
  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park54 miles

Read about Crozet's history on Wikipedia.

Know Crozet?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Ivy, VA (unincorporated)794 people, 5 miles
  • North Garden, VA (unincorporated)475 people, 8 miles
  • Afton, VA (unincorporated)266 people, 8 miles
  • Dooms, VA (unincorporated)1,454 people, 9 miles
  • Free Union, VA (unincorporated)124 people, 10 miles
  • Crimora, VA (unincorporated)1,252 people, 10 miles
  • Harriston, VA (unincorporated)1,212 people, 12 miles
  • Rio, VA (unincorporated)1,252 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.