CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

38.16° N · 78.41° W · GEOID 5162738

Piney Mountain

Albemarle County, Virginia · part of the Charlottesville, VA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

VirginiaPiney Mountain, VAPiney MountainPiney Mountain

The short answer

Piney Mountain is home to 2,288 people. Median household income is $138,636 a year and median rent is $1,685 a month, 14.6% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $296,000, about 2.1x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,685
23% above the median place
Median household income
$138,636
73% above the median place
Median home value
$296,000
7% below the median place
Unemployment
0.0%
below the median place (median 4.9%)

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Piney Mountain

  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 16.4% a year while rent rose 6.7%, so pay gained on rent more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-lowest of 195 Virginia places.
  • Unemployment averaged 0.0% over the survey period, lower than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 160 Virginia places.
  • Half the homes were built after 2010, newer housing than in 98% of places its size.
  • The median home is worth 2.1 years of the median household's income, fewer than in 92% of places its size. It is the 3rd-lowest of 195 Virginia places.
  • 28% of residents were born outside the US, more than in 92% of places its size.
01

Moving to Piney Mountain

Albemarle County gains about 6.4 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in8,364
Moved out7,767
Net+597

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Greene County, VA209344−135
Louisa County, VA124175−51

Within Virginia, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within VirginiaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$101K
Leavers$97K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Albemarle County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
13.9% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 5.5% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Albemarle County report $100,600 a year in income on average; those leaving, $96,600.
Income you would need
$67,400 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,685 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $2,048 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $296,000.
Getting to work
22 minutes each way on average; 15.4% work from home; 1.2% take transit.
If it is close but not quite
Lindenhurst, IL matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved here in the past year1
13.9%
142% above the median place
Moved from another state1
5.5%
177% above the median place
Income of households moving out6
$96,606
37% above the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasurePiney MountainAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure13.9%142% above
Moved from another state1County figure5.5%177% above
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure6.4above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$100,62443% above
Income of households moving out6County figure$96,60637% above
02

What it costs to live here

Median year built is 2010, 2% above the median place.

Piney Mountain14.6%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$67,400
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
14.6%
28% below the median place
Home price to income
2.1x
44% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
15%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$121,800
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Piney Mountain, $1,685 a month, and local prices for everything else (97.5 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Piney Mountain.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Piney Mountain? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Median year built1
2010
2% above the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$2,346
28% below the median place
Homeownership1
71.8%
8% above the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasurePiney MountainAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,68523% above
Rent to income114.6%28% below
Property tax rate10.8%13% below
Home price to income12.1x44% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure99.22% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,6422% above
Property tax paid (median)1$2,34628% below
Median home value1$296,0007% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure5.5%73% above
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure49.2%5% below
Homeownership171.8%8% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure50.0%1% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$2,0489% above
Vacant homes1County figure6.6%6% below
Median year built120102% above
03

Work and pay

Unemployment is 0.0%, below the median place (median 4.9%).

Unemployment1
0.0%
below the median place (median 4.9%)
Median household income1
$138,636
73% above the median place
Mean commute1
22 min
11% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasurePiney MountainAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$138,63673% above
Income per person1$46,03715% above
Unemployment10.0%below (median 4.9%)
Average annual pay5County figure$74,90214% above
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure2.8%24% below
Jobs5County figure65,49457% below
Poverty rate1County figure7.7%29% below
Mean commute122 min11% below
Works from home115.4%24% above
Commutes by transit1County figure1.2%39% above
04

Who lives here

High school or higher is 98.6%, 7% above the median place.

High school or higher1
98.6%
7% above the median place
Household size1
3.1
23% above the median place
Born abroad1
28.3%
220% above the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Bachelor's or higher50.8% +58%
Median age36.2 −7%
Homes with broadband92.7% +0%
All 8 people measures
MeasurePiney MountainAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population12,2886646th largest
Median age136.27% below
Bachelor's or higher150.8%58% above
High school or higher198.6%7% above
Household size13.123% above
Born abroad128.3%220% above
No health insurance1County figure5.9%8% below
Homes with broadband192.7%0% above
05

Life in Piney Mountain

102 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars16.2 −22%
Shops27.9 −8%
Arts, recreation and fitness5.5 +34%
Doctors' offices and clinics28.6 +42%
Child care centers2.5 +9%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7
28.6
42% above the median place
Restaurants and bars per 10k7
16.2
22% below the median place
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7
5.5
34% above the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasurePiney MountainAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10County figure26189% above
Public school students10County figure13,438174% above
Students per teacher10County figure14.09% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure16.222% below
Shops per 10k7County figure27.98% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure5.534% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure28.642% above
Child care centers per 10k7County figure2.59% above
Parks per 10k80.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k80.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k80.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k80.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails80.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi80.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings9County figure102above (median 13)
06

Safety, weather and risk

Median air quality index is 38, 12% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Piney Mountain. Larger places are fetched first.

Median air quality index13
38
12% below the median place
Tornado risk12
52.2
36% below the median place
Heat wave risk12
69.2
23% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasurePiney MountainAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure87°F0% above
January average low11County figure26°F3% above
Average temperature11County figure56°F2% above
Annual precipitation11County figure45.0 in3% above
Natural hazard risk12County figure78.215% below
Hurricane risk12County figure82.617% above
Tornado risk12County figure52.236% below
Wildfire risk12County figure64.35% above
Heat wave risk12County figure69.223% below
Median air quality index13County figure3812% below
Good air days13County figure81.0%18% above
08

Piney Mountain in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 14% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 15% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,685/mo (2024)$2,190/mo$1,800 to $2,670/mo+4.5%
Median household income$138,636 (2024)$185,500$157,000 to $219,500+5.0%
Median home value$296,000 (2024)$431,000$313,000 to $594,000+6.5%

The median home would be worth 2.3 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.1 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Piney Mountain

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Lindenhurst, IL$1,768$131,474Compare
Gretna, NE$1,540$123,992Compare
Asbury, IA$1,522$124,957Compare
Campbelltown, PA$1,595$119,175Compare
Campbelltown, PAAsbury, IAGretna, NELindenhurst, ILPiney Mountain, VAPiney MountainLindenhurstGretnaAsburyPiney MountainLindenhurstGretna

Common questions

Is Piney Mountain a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 16.4% a year while rent rose 6.7%, so pay gained on rent more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-lowest of 195 Virginia places. Unemployment averaged 0.0% over the survey period, lower than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 160 Virginia places. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Piney Mountain expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 14.6% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $296,000.

What salary do you need to live in Piney Mountain?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $67,400 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Piney Mountain?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Lindenhurst, IL, Gretna, NE, Asbury, IA and Campbelltown, PA.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  13. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Piney Mountain with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Piney Mountain itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/piney-mountain-virginia

Citytistics. “Piney Mountain, Virginia.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/piney-mountain-virginia/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.