| American Human Development Index: Comparison Across Benchmark Localities | |||||||
| AHDI |
Health
|
Access to Knowledge
|
Living Standards
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | At Least High School Diploma | At Least Bachelor’s Degree | Graduate Degree | School Enrollment | Median Earnings (2023 $) | ||
| Local | |||||||
| Albemarle | 7.3 | 82 | 94% | 61% | 31% | 85% | $51,922 |
| Charlottesville | 6.2 | 79 | 93% | 61% | 33% | 87% | $38,285 |
| State & US | |||||||
| Virginia | 5.8 | 78 | 91% | 41% | 18% | 76% | $49,405 |
| United States | 5.3 | 78 | 89% | 35% | 14% | 76% | $44,587 |
| Benchmark Counties | |||||||
| Fairfax | 8.4 | 85 | 93% | 64% | 32% | 81% | $71,572 |
| Fauquier | 6.3 | 80 | 92% | 40% | 15% | 78% | $55,904 |
| Hanover | 6.2 | 78 | 94% | 42% | 16% | 80% | $53,394 |
| Loudoun | 8.6 | 84 | 94% | 64% | 28% | 84% | $82,579 |
| Montgomery | 5.7 | 79 | 96% | 48% | 26% | 90% | $32,364 |
| Prince William | 6.6 | 81 | 90% | 44% | 18% | 77% | $57,337 |
| Roanoke | 5.8 | 78 | 94% | 37% | 13% | 77% | $48,688 |
| Arlington | 8.9 | 85 | 95% | 77% | 41% | 74% | $88,306 |
| Data Sources: Life Expectancy: County Health Rankings, 2024. Education and Earnings: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2023. | |||||||
Albemarle County Profile: Key Outcomes
Introduction
Ensuring the full inclusion of residents in the social, economic, and civic life of a region supports the long-term health and vibrancy of a community. The systems of education, employment, housing, and health care affect all residents, but they do not always promote well-being for all residents. An inclusive community is one in which all individuals—regardless of their racial, ethnic, religious, gender, or sexual identity, their age or place of birth, their economic circumstances or neighborhood of residence—can access resources and opportunities that advance health, civic participation, and economic security.
Full Report PDF
This interactive online version of the Community Wellbeing Profile presents key outcomes from the full report. For further metrics, analysis, policy connections, and data sources, please see the report PDF: Albemarle County Community Wellbeing Profile
Demographics
A locality’s demographic composition can reflect the area’s past and current policy choices, inform the diverse needs of different community members, and provide insight into the region’s cultural inclusivity. The profile begins by examining the population attributes of the estimated 117,790 county residents.1
See the full report for additional measures on age, gender, language and linguistic isolation, and the prevalence of disabilities among residents in Albemarle County.
American Human Development Index (AHDI)
The American Human Development Index (AHDI) is a metric that assesses well-being along three axes: health, access to knowledge, and living standards. This metric was created by Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council to be estimated at geographic levels, such as states and counties, and to speak directly to the American context of an affluent democracy.2
Each component of AHDI—health, access to knowledge, and living standards—is scored on a 0 to 10 scale for a specific geography.3 The AHDI is the average of these three scores: each component carries equal weight in the composite index as all carry equal importance for community well-being.
The following table shows AHDI for Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, Virginia overall, and other localities that serve as comparative benchmarks.
The table below shows the AHDI values for Albemarle County and Virginia overall for 2023 compared to 2019. Given the intervening crisis of COVID-19, this stability was not a given.
| American Human Development Index: 2023 vs 2019 | |||||||
| AHDI |
Health
|
Access to Knowledge
|
Living Standards
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | At Least High School Diploma | At Least Bachelor’s Degree | Graduate Degree | School Enrollment | Median Earnings | ||
| Local | |||||||
| Albemarle (2023) | 7.3 | 82 | 94% | 61% | 31% | 85% | $51,922 |
| Albemarle (2019) | 7.4 | 83 | 95% | 61% | 30% | 87% | $44,030 |
| State | |||||||
| Virginia (2023) | 5.8 | 78 | 91% | 41% | 18% | 76% | $49,405 |
| Virginia (2019) | 5.8 | 79 | 90% | 40% | 17% | 78% | $40,405 |
| Data Sources: Life Expectancy: County Health Rankings, 2024. Education and Earnings: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2023. | |||||||
Within the county, there are large differences in AHDI across neighborhoods. That is, people are experiencing different outcomes in their health, education, and living standards depending on where they live.
The map below shows the AHDI for each census tract. Census tracts are areas determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to approximate neighborhoods; they are roughly equal in population and are bounded by major roads, rivers and railroad tracks.
American Human Development Index (AHDI) by Census Tract
| Census Tract | AHDI Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Ivy | 10.3 | |
| North Garden | 9.5 | |
| Polo Grounds Road | 9.1 | |
| Old Trail Pantops | 8.7 | |
| Dunlora-Stone Henge Earlysville Village of Rivanna | 8.6 | |
| Western Ridge-Westhall | 8.4 | |
| Darden-Key West | 8.1 | |
| Free Union | 8.0 | |
| Crozet-Beaver Creek | 7.7 | |
| Hollymead | 7.6 | |
| Berkmar Drive | 7.3 | |
| Woodbrook-Carrsbrook | 7.2 | |
| Avon Street Ext.-Mill Creek | 7.1 | |
| Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport | 7.0 | |
| Monticello, Carters Mountain | 6.9 | |
| Stony Point-Keswick | 6.7 | |
| Yancey Mills, Batesville | 6.4 | |
| Barracks-Hessian Hills | 5.9 | |
| Albemarle High School | 5.8 | |
| Branchland Commonwealth-Townwood-Berkmar | 5.5 | |
| Southern Albemarle-Scottsville | 5.4 | |
| Oak Hill, Southwood | 5.2 | |
| Hydraulic | 4.5 | |
| Old Ivy-Darden School (UVA) | 4.4 |
To better understand the nature of these discrepancies, the following figure shows the value for each individual AHDI component by census tract.
A Long and Healthy Life: Health Profile
The health care we receive and the individual choices we make impact our health, but so do the places where we live, work, play and pray—the social determinants of health. The CDC estimates that as much as 50% of individual health is due to “social, economic, and environmental factors, such as education, racism, discrimination, and housing.”4 That is, many disparities in health stem from inequities in the opportunities and resources needed to be healthy.
Health Insurance
Health insurance supports access to routine health care and provides some protection from unanticipated medical expenses. In Albemarle, 1 in 20 people do not have health insurance. Those without insurance are less likely to have a primary care provider, are more likely to delay or forgo needed care, and receive fewer preventative services.5 There are major demographic and geographic disparities in health insurance coverage across the county.
Residents with No Health Insurance by Census Tract
| Census Tract | Uninsured | |
|---|---|---|
| Albemarle High School | 31% | |
| Oak Hill, Southwood | 20% | |
| Commonwealth-Townwood-Berkmar | 13% | |
| Southern Albemarle-Scottsville | 11% | |
| Hydraulic | 10% | |
| Barracks-Hessian Hills | 9% | |
| Yancey Mills, Batesville | 7% | |
| Berkmar Drive | 6% | |
| Monticello, Carters Mountain | 6% | |
| Hollymead | 4% | |
| Carr's Hill-McCormick Road (UVA) | 4% | |
| Old Trail | 4% | |
| Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport | 3% | |
| Stony Point-Keswick | 3% | |
| Darden-Key West | 3% | |
| Old Ivy-Darden School (UVA) | 3% | |
| Western Ridge-Westhall | 3% | |
| North Garden | 3% | |
| Avon Street Ext.-Mill Creek | 3% | |
| Free Union | 2% | |
| Village of Rivanna | 2% | |
| Dunlora-Stone Henge | 2% | |
| Woodbrook-Carrsbrook | 2% | |
| Ivy | 2% | |
| Earlysville | 1% | |
| Branchland | 1% | |
| Crozet-Beaver Creek | 1% | |
| Polo Grounds Road | 0% | |
| Pantops | 0% |
The full profile provides additional health measures including life expectancy, food security, various health outcome and prevention metrics, and EMS responses to opiod overdoses for Albemarle County.
Access to Knowledge: Education Profile
Education promotes personal development in multiple ways and directly influences employment and earnings, which in turn influence access to decent housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and more. Education also enhances individual and collective civic life. Albemarle County is notable for its well-educated population, further supported by hosting a high-ranking university. More granular data on educational attainment in Albemarle County tells a more complex story and points to paths for improvement.
Degree Attainment
The figure below shows how degree attainment varies across residents by race and ethnicity in Albemarle County.
There is also significant geographic variation in the rates of bachelor’s degree attainment throughout Albemarle County.
Education Level: Bachelor’s Degree or Higher by Census Tract
| Census Tract | BA or Higher | |
|---|---|---|
| Old Ivy-Darden School (UVA) | 86% | |
| Ivy | 82% | |
| Western Ridge-Westhall | 78% | |
| Pantops | 75% | |
| Dunlora-Stone Henge | 73% | |
| Earlysville | 72% | |
| Old Trail | 72% | |
| Polo Grounds Road | 71% | |
| Village of Rivanna | 70% | |
| Darden-Key West | 69% | |
| Woodbrook-Carrsbrook | 69% | |
| North Garden | 68% | |
| Avon Street Ext.-Mill Creek | 65% | |
| Free Union | 64% | |
| Crozet-Beaver Creek | 63% | |
| Oak Hill, Southwood | 59% | |
| Berkmar Drive | 58% | |
| Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport | 57% | |
| Yancey Mills, Batesville | 57% | |
| Stony Point-Keswick | 52% | |
| Branchland | 52% | |
| Hollymead | 51% | |
| Barracks-Hessian Hills | 49% | |
| Albemarle High School | 46% | |
| Hydraulic | 45% | |
| Monticello, Carters Mountain | 43% | |
| Southern Albemarle-Scottsville | 40% | |
| Carr's Hill-McCormick Road (UVA) | 39% | |
| Commonwealth-Townwood-Berkmar | 37% |
The full profile provides additional education measures including school enrollment in Albemarle County and AP and Dual Enrollment, Suspensions, and Chronic Absenteeism in Albemarle County Public Schools.
Decent Standard of Living: Economic Security and Housing Profile
Living standards encompass access to the material needs of life—housing, security, goods and services. It is captured through measures on earnings, household income, homeownership and renting. Data on earnings and income contextualize the struggle some residents face to achieve economic stability and to afford basic necessities. Data on home ownership and housing burden point to the pressing challenges around housing affordability.
Earnings and Income
Median earnings represent the midpoint of all household incomes, meaning half of households earn more and half earn less than that amount. The median is generally considered a more representative measure of typical income compared to the average, as it’s not affected by extreme outliers (very high or low incomes). The median personal earnings of Albemarle residents vary significantly by sex and by race.
Median Household Income
While median personal earnings quantify well-being at the individual level, economic power is often pooled within family units. And many tax and policy interventions are monitored at the household level. Below, the median household income is provided to more directly relate financial well-being to the cost of living in the area.
Median Household Income by Census Tract
| Census Tract | Med Household Income | |
|---|---|---|
| Ivy | $183,000 | |
| Earlysville | $182,000 | |
| Polo Grounds Road | $176,000 | |
| Darden-Key West | $154,000 | |
| North Garden | $149,000 | |
| Old Trail | $146,000 | |
| Western Ridge-Westhall | $141,000 | |
| Woodbrook-Carrsbrook | $125,000 | |
| Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport | $123,000 | |
| Hollymead | $122,000 | |
| Berkmar Drive | $121,000 | |
| Dunlora-Stone Henge | $121,000 | |
| Village of Rivanna | $119,000 | |
| Stony Point-Keswick | $109,000 | |
| Free Union | $103,000 | |
| Avon Street Ext.-Mill Creek | $102,000 | |
| Monticello, Carters Mountain | $98,000 | |
| Pantops | $97,000 | |
| Albemarle High School | $95,000 | |
| Yancey Mills, Batesville | $92,000 | |
| Crozet-Beaver Creek | $90,000 | |
| Southern Albemarle-Scottsville | $90,000 | |
| Oak Hill, Southwood | $74,000 | |
| Commonwealth-Townwood-Berkmar | $70,000 | |
| Branchland | $61,000 | |
| Barracks-Hessian Hills | $59,000 | |
| Hydraulic | $58,000 | |
| Carr's Hill-McCormick Road (UVA) | $51,000 | |
| Old Ivy-Darden School (UVA) | $41,000 |
As with personal earnings, data on median household income by race reveal troubling racial and ethnic disparities.
Struggling Families: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE)
Comprehensive measures of financial hardship must consider both income and the broader cost of living: United Way developed the asset limited, income constrained, employed (ALICE) threshold for this purpose. The ALICE threshold is calibrated to specific localities, and represents the lowest possible income that households need to earn to afford their basic needs. These essentials include the costs of housing, healthcare, food, transportation, technology, taxes, and childcare.
Many households with incomes below their local cost of living threshold, but above the federal poverty line may not be traditionally thought of as financially burdened. Because their incomes are above the federal poverty line, these households do not qualify for some federal assistance programs and their disadvantaged financial status is often overlooked by local governments. Inequities are amplified when local government interventions neglect the burdens of households who are working hard, and earning above the federal poverty threshold, but still not enough to meet their family’s basic needs.
The ALICE threshold, or the real cost of living, for Albemarle County has increased over the past decade. In 2010, this threshold for survival was $50,000 for households under 65; this grew to $75,000 in 2023. The percentages of households with incomes above the poverty line and under the ALICE threshold in Albemarle County differs across race and ethnicity.
Housing: Renters and Owners
Housing costs are one of the primary drivers of the rising costs of living. Housing is a significant expense, and in our housing affordability crisis there can be limited options for those families who are not earning enough to meet the area’s rising costs.
Zillow’s observed rent index (ZORI) is a measure of a locality’s representative market-rate rent.
Many residents face economic hardship over rising rents, but these burdens are not equally shared.
Gross Rent by Census Tract
| Census Tract | Gross Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Berkmar Drive | $2,500 | |
| Polo Grounds Road | $2,300 | |
| Village of Rivanna | $2,100 | |
| Darden-Key West | $2,100 | |
| Old Trail | $2,100 | |
| Pantops | $2,000 | |
| Crozet-Beaver Creek | $2,000 | |
| Hollymead | $1,900 | |
| Earlysville | $1,800 | |
| Woodbrook-Carrsbrook | $1,800 | |
| Albemarle High School | $1,800 | |
| Western Ridge-Westhall | $1,800 | |
| Avon Street Ext.-Mill Creek | $1,800 | |
| Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport | $1,700 | |
| Dunlora-Stone Henge | $1,700 | |
| Branchland | $1,700 | |
| Commonwealth-Townwood-Berkmar | $1,700 | |
| Free Union | $1,600 | |
| Oak Hill, Southwood | $1,600 | |
| Barracks-Hessian Hills | $1,500 | |
| Old Ivy-Darden School (UVA) | $1,500 | |
| Hydraulic | $1,400 | |
| Carr's Hill-McCormick Road (UVA) | $1,300 | |
| Yancey Mills, Batesville | $1,300 | |
| Monticello, Carters Mountain | $1,300 | |
| Ivy | $1,200 | |
| North Garden | $1,200 | |
| Stony Point-Keswick | $1,100 | |
| Southern Albemarle-Scottsville | $1,100 |
The impact of high rental costs on economic security is evident in estimates of how much of a household’s income goes towards housing. A household is rent burdened if 30% or more of their monthly income is spent on housing. If these costs are over 50% of household income, they are considered severely burdened by the cost of housing. The number of rent burdened households varies geographically across census tracts in Albemarle.
Addressing disparities in home ownership rates is critical for ensuring equitable access to economic stability and wealth-building opportunities for all Albemarle residents.
Home Ownership by Census Tract
| Census Tract | Percent Home Ownership | |
|---|---|---|
| North Garden | 90% | |
| Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport | 89% | |
| Ivy | 89% | |
| Earlysville | 88% | |
| Village of Rivanna | 88% | |
| Darden-Key West | 88% | |
| Hollymead | 86% | |
| Free Union | 85% | |
| Western Ridge-Westhall | 85% | |
| Berkmar Drive | 84% | |
| Monticello, Carters Mountain | 83% | |
| Southern Albemarle-Scottsville | 80% | |
| Old Trail | 75% | |
| Yancey Mills, Batesville | 74% | |
| Polo Grounds Road | 73% | |
| Dunlora-Stone Henge | 70% | |
| Stony Point-Keswick | 69% | |
| Woodbrook-Carrsbrook | 63% | |
| Commonwealth-Townwood-Berkmar | 57% | |
| Crozet-Beaver Creek | 57% | |
| Avon Street Ext.-Mill Creek | 56% | |
| Branchland | 39% | |
| Albemarle High School | 38% | |
| Pantops | 31% | |
| Barracks-Hessian Hills | 29% | |
| Oak Hill, Southwood | 26% | |
| Old Ivy-Darden School (UVA) | 21% | |
| Hydraulic | 20% | |
| Carr's Hill-McCormick Road (UVA) | 9% |
The full profile provides additional measures on living standards including ALICE thresholds for 2010-2023, ALICE households by Albemarle County Magisterial District, home ownership by race and ethnicity, and information on heirs’ property.
Additional Community Wellbeing Profiles
The partnership between the UVA Center for Community Partnerships, Albemarle County, and the City of Charlottesville also produced two additional profiles:
- Charlottesville City Community Wellbeing Profile: A report with parallel information on the demographics, health, education, and living standards for the City of Charlottesville.
- Charlottesville and Albemarle Area Community Wellbeing Profile: A report that expands on the individual locality profiles with trend data for measures related to the well-being of the collective population of the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
Footnotes
University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. (2024). Virginia Population Estimates. Retrieved from https://coopercenter.org/virginia-population-estimates.↩︎
“About Human Development.” Measure of America, https://measureofamerica.org/human-development/↩︎
See the Measure of America Methodological Notes for the complete methodology: https://measureofamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/The-Measure-of-America-2010-2011-Methodological-Notes.pdf↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Community Health Improvement Navigator,” Last modified August 19, 2015, https://www.cdc.gov/chinav/index.html↩︎
Report: The Importance of Health Coverage. American Hospital Association. https://www.aha.org/guidesreports/report-importance-health-coverage↩︎