?WhereToHQ

Ranked · Renting · Virginia

Best cities for renters in Virginia

Cities of 25,000+ residents, scored with the “Renting” weighting the live tool uses, heaviest on 2-bedroom rent, 1-bedroom rent, rent yoy, walkability. Scores are relative to this set; open the tool to change the weights and re-rank.

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Top 10 · computed ranking

  1. 1.Richmond, VA229k residents

    66/100

    2-bedroom rent: $1,650/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $1,400/mo · walkability: 51/100

  2. 2.Danville, VA42k residents

    55/100

    2-bedroom rent: $819/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $588/mo · walkability: 30/100

  3. 3.Roanoke, VA98k residents

    52/100

    2-bedroom rent: $967/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $847/mo · walkability: 34/100

  4. 4.Lynchburg, VA79k residents

    52/100

    2-bedroom rent: $1,028/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $911/mo · walkability: 34/100

  5. 5.Salem, VA26k residents

    51/100

    2-bedroom rent: $1,110/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $918/mo · walkability: 30/100

  6. 6.Staunton, VA26k residents

    50/100

    2-bedroom rent: $949/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $818/mo · walkability: 30/100

  7. 7.Cave Spring, VA26k residents

    50/100

    2-bedroom rent: $1,282/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $954/mo · walkability: 30/100

  8. 8.Newport News, VA184k residents

    47/100

    2-bedroom rent: $1,289/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $1,129/mo · walkability: 38/100

  9. 9.Portsmouth, VA97k residents

    47/100

    2-bedroom rent: $1,252/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $1,110/mo · walkability: 34/100

  10. 10.Harrisonburg, VA51k residents

    47/100

    2-bedroom rent: $1,118/mo · 1-bedroom rent: $887/mo · walkability: 34/100

Methodology: each city is scored 0–100 by min–max normalizing every weighted facet across this candidate set (direction-aware), identical math to the tool's “Best fit” tab. A different weighting produces a different order, which is the point: this is a starting shortlist, not a verdict.

Questions & answers
Which city is best for renters in Virginia?
Richmond, VA ranks first with a fit score of 66/100, followed by Danville (55) and Roanoke (52), using the "Renting" weighting.
How is this ranking calculated?
Each of the 10 candidate cities (25,000+ residents) is scored 0 to 100 by min-max normalizing the weighted facets, heaviest on 2-bedroom rent, 1-bedroom rent, rent yoy, walkability, across this set. Change the weights in the live tool and the order changes with them.