Cost of living comparison
Charlottesville vs. Rochester Cost of Living Summary
Charlottesville is 39.9% more expensive than Rochester.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.4% more in Charlottesville
- Groceries
-
pay 81.4% more in Charlottesville
- Transportation
-
pay 1.6% less in Charlottesville
- Housing
-
pay 51.6% more in Charlottesville
- Childcare
-
pay 80.2% more in Charlottesville
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.9% more in Charlottesville
- Clothing
-
pay 0.4% less in Charlottesville
The cost of groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants in Charlottesville are more expensive than in Rochester. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Charlottesville. Notably, groceries and childcare are significantly more expensive in Charlottesville.
Charlottesville vs. Rochester Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Charlottesville instead of Rochester, you would:
pay 10.4% more for restaurants
|
Rochester
|
Charlottesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.50
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.80
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$1.92
|
|
pay 81.4% more for groceries
|
Rochester
|
Charlottesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.95
|
$3.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.51
|
$8.15
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.06
|
$4.31
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.79
|
$5.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.83
|
$7.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.54
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.69
|
$1.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$3.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.62
|
$3.67
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$3.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$3.00
|
|
pay 1.6% less for transportation
|
Rochester
|
Charlottesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.59
|
$3.83
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? | ?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$36,227.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$34.85
|
$20.16
|
|
pay 51.6% more for housing
|
Rochester
|
Charlottesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.50
|
$100.60
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,200.00
|
$1,965.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,183.33
|
$1,415.83
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$102.66
|
$220.49
|
|
pay 80.2% more for childcare
|
Rochester
|
Charlottesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$648.50
|
$1,409.18
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,000.00
|
$29,900.00
|
|
pay 53.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Rochester
|
Charlottesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.40
|
$4.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.52
|
$9.11
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$22.50
|
$70.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.00
|
$17.00
|
|
pay 0.4% less for clothing
|
Rochester
|
Charlottesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.00
|
$47.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.75
|
$48.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$82.00
|
$95.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.50
|
$120.00
|
|
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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