City Awards

FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET

What People are Saying

Folks that have lived here for a long time are aware of our City's high quality of life. Here is what some other well-known sources are saying about life in Charlottesville:


  • 17 Most Beautiful College Campuses in the US – Matador Network 2021
  • Top 5 Most Beautiful College Towns – USA Today 2020
  • 20 Best Small Cities in the U.S. (Most Literate) - National Geographic Travel 2018
  • National Geographic Happiest Places (#3) - Dan Buettner and Dan Witters of Gallup 2017
  • #2 Best Small Town Main Street in America - Country Living 2017
  • No. 3 Best Small Town in the South - Southern Living 2017
  • #2 Most Exciting City in Virginia - gogobot 2015
  • 12 Cutest Small Towns in America - Huffington Post 2015
  • Top 10 Best Places to Retire - Livability.com 2015
  • Most Exciting Place in Virginia (#1) - Movoto Real Estate
  • America's Favorite Mountain Towns (#9) - Travel + Leisure Magazine 2014
  • Best College Town in America (#1) - Traveler's Today 2014
  • America's Smartest City - Luminosity.com 2013, 2012

Best Place to Live

  • 25th for Quality of Life – WalletHub’s 2019 Best Small Cities in America
  • 10th Best College Town in America – Livability 2018
  • #5 Best Place to Live – Livability 2017, 2018
  • 15 Best Places to Live in the U.S. (#3) - NY Post 2016
  • 50 Best College Towns (#7) - College Rank 2016
  • 10 hippest Mid-Sized Cities in America - gogobot 2016

Best Place to Visit

  • Charlottesville, VA is the #22 Best City to Live in the USA – Livability.com 2022
  • #6 Best Cities in the South to move to after the pandemic 2020 – Business Insider
  • One of the Best Weekend Getaway Trips from DC – Thrillist.com
  • 17 Places You Must Visit in 2017 - Expedia 2017
  • America's Favorite Towns - Travel + Leisure 2017
  • The Best Road Trips from 10 Major US Cities - Business Insider 2017
  • Most Charming Southern Vacations You Need to Experience - Trip Advisor 2017
  • Five Great Places to Visit in 2016 - Off Metro NY
  • 8 Southern Cities for Your Bucket List - Visit South 2015
  • 22 Best Small Town Family Weekend Destinations - Vacationidea.com 2015

Healthiest City Awards

  • Community Well-Being (#5) - Gallup-Health Index 2016
  • Healthiest Small Town in the U.S. - Health Line 2016
  • America's Healthiest Small Cities (#6) - Daily Finance 2014
  • Most Walkable City in Virginia - Walk Score - 2011

Business/Economic Awards

  • Top 50 Best Cities for Entrepreneurs (#4) - Entrepreneur Magazine & Livability.com 2016
  • Virginia Economic Developer’s Association Community Economic Development Award - 2016
  • #4 Best Small City for Working Women - Nerdwallet.com 2013
  • #30 Best City for Job Growth - New Geography 2012
  • #14 Best Performing Small Market in US - Milken Institute 2011

Green City Awards

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense Partner of the Year award - 2016, 2015
  • Virginia Municipal League Green Government Challenge: Platinum - 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009; Gold – 2010; 1st Place (Population 15,001-90,000) – 2008
  • Bicycle Friendly Community, Silver Level - League of American Bicyclists 2012

Food and Drink Recognitions

  • The Five Best Wine Road Trips in the U.S. – Food & Wine 2021
  • Beyond Sonoma: Check Out Wine Country in Oregon, Colorado, Virginia, and Pennsylvania – USA Today 2021
  • These Are America’s Next Great Food Cities – Food & Wine 2022
  • Top 7 U.S. Wine Regions to Visit in 2022 – Winecountry.com
  • Monticello Wine Trail ranked #6 Best Wine Region 2020 – USA Today
  • The 7 U.S. Wine Regions Giving Napa a Serious Run for Its Money - Architectural Digest 2017
  • One of America's Best Small Cities for Foodies - Travelocity 2016
  • #7 Best College Town in America for Food and Drink - Thrillist 2015
  • Top 5 New American Foodie Cities - Wine Enthusiast Magazine 2014
  • #14 Cities with Most Restaurants per Capita - Huffington Post 2013

Special Recognitions

  • Top 10 Wind Regions in the Country – USA Today 2020
  • The Top Small Towns For Taking in the Fall Foliage - MSN 2017
  • Digital Government Achievement Award, Driving Digital Government, Local Government - 2016
  • Alliance for Innovation Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation Award - 2016
  • Charlottesville Society for Human Resource Management Hoo-Ray Human Resource Excellence Award - 2016
  • International City/County Management Association Strategic Leadership & Governance Award - 2016
  • Governor’s Technology Award for IT as Efficiency Driver – Government to Citizen 2015
  • 10 U.S. Towns with Incredible Christmas Celebrations - Huffington Post/Fodors 2015
  • USA's 12 Best Places for Book Lovers -The Culture Trip
  • Top Ten Book-Loving Cities (#4) - Livability.com 2013