Moving to
Lake Monticello.

All Lake Monticello data Compare Lake Monticello

10,662people live here $106,818median household income▲ 32% above US $1,981median rent per month▲ 40% above US $325,900median home valueNear US average

Lake Monticello is an unincorporated community in Fluvanna County, VA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Lake Monticello

Lake Monticello is an unincorporated community in Virginia with county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, and a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Lake Monticello deals with rent well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, cold winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
Above-average commute times
Cold winters
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options

How Lake Monticello compares

Median household income

Lake Monticello$106,818

Virginia avg$93,170

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Lake Monticello$1,981

Virginia avg$1,579

US$1,413

Median home value

Lake Monticello$325,900

Virginia avg$383,700

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Lake Monticello

Based on Lake Monticello's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,962

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $79,240 a year
18% of Lake Monticello renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$65,180

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $32,590
Homes cost 3.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 40% above US

$1,981/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $1,981 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $325,900. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.

Median home value $325,900 · 18% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.0% county unemployment

Unemployment in Fluvanna County is 3.0%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Fluvanna County (county-wide)

Safety

110 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Lake Monticello doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 384/100k · Policed by Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 15% above US

30 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 29.8 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 22% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

63%

Work from home

22%

Carpool

10%

Other

3.1%

Walk

1.9%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 83°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 28°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 44% above US

52% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.

Schools

0 public schools inside the boundary

No public school is located inside the boundary; students attend schools in the surrounding district. There is 1 private school inside it.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Green Springs (11 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Lake Monticello's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,981/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), remote workers (22% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

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