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Towns / Virginia

Lake Monticello, Virginia

Lake Monticello is an unincorporated community of about 10,700 people in Fluvanna 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 3.1 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 54 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
10,662
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$325,900
Fluvanna County prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$106,818
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Charlottesville area
99.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Charlottesville, VA
To Richmond
54 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 3.1 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Fluvanna County High, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRichmond is about 54 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 Lake Monticello 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
$325,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Fluvanna County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,981 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$106,818U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
96%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,011 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%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 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Charlottesville metro area, not Lake Monticello 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
10,662The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
42.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
52%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%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 (39%); professional and business services (15%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
22%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: Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, VA, about 9 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

There are no public schools inside Lake Monticello itself. The nearest public high school is Fluvanna County High, about 4 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
89%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
99%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
25°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
26 a year
Nights at or below freezing
112 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.7 inches a year
Snow
12 inches a year
Elevation
360 feet

Weather station: Palmyra 3S (8 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: Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, Harrisonburg, Richmond.

Fluvanna 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 Trail26 miles
  • Shenandoah National Park27 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway29 miles
  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park40 miles
  • Appomattox Court House National Historical Park42 miles

Read about Lake Monticello's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lake Monticello?

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

  • Palmyra, VA (unincorporated)171 people, 5 miles
  • Rivanna, VA (unincorporated)2,211 people, 6 miles
  • Keswick, VA (unincorporated)402 people, 7 miles
  • Scottsville, VA549 people, 11 miles
  • Rio, VA (unincorporated)1,252 people, 14 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.