Living in Hollymead, Virginia: homes, schools and costs

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 3.7 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 town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Albemarle High, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byUniversity of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 66 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 Hollymead 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Hollymead runs into the built-up area around Charlottesville (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $435,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Albemarle County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $2,140 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $118,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,346 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 Hollymead 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: 8,482The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 37.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 64%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%
College students: 5%share of all residents

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 (34%); professional and business services (16%); retail (9%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%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 6 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

3 public schools in Hollymead, run by Albemarle County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Albemarle High, about 5 miles away.

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: 80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 97%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: 30°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 34 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 88 a year
Rain and melted snow: 46.8 inches a year
Snow: 11 inches a year
Elevation: 470 feet

Weather stations: Charlottesville Ap (1 mile away) and Free Union (9 miles away, rain and snow). 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

University of Virginia Medical CenterEmergency room6

Harrisonburg, VACity of 51,00032

Richmond, VAMetro of 1.4 million66

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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail13 miles
Shenandoah National Park14 miles
Blue Ridge Parkway24 miles
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park39 miles
Richmond National Battlefield Park50 miles

Read about Hollymead's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hollymead?

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

Pantops, VA4,700 people, 6 miles
Charlottesville, VA44,000 people, 6 miles
Gordonsville, VA1,600 people, 14 miles
Crozet, VA9,300 people, 15 miles
Lake Monticello, VA10,700 people, 15 miles
Orange, VA5,400 people, 20 miles

Smaller places

Earlysville, VA (unincorporated)1,222 people, 3 miles
Piney Mountain, VA (unincorporated)2,288 people, 3 miles
Rio, VA (unincorporated)1,252 people, 3 miles
Free Union, VA (unincorporated)124 people, 7 miles
Ruckersville, VA (unincorporated)1,399 people, 8 miles
Keswick, VA (unincorporated)402 people, 8 miles
Twin Lakes, VA (unincorporated)1,562 people, 9 miles
Barboursville, VA (unincorporated)694 people, 9 miles

Sources

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.