Living in Petersburg, VA
Small city in Virginia
Petersburg is a small city in Virginia, home to about 33,000 people, with 648,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, there is some transit, though many people drive. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is Petersburg a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Low natural disaster risk: 4 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $249k and rents for $2,070 a month
- Easy flying: RIC is 21 mi away
- Strong healthcare: 4 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
👎 Cons
- Weaker public schools: test results well below the US average
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Fewer graduates: 25% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Few dog parks: 1 within 9 mi
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Petersburg ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Petersburg: common questions
What is the cost of living in Petersburg?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $249k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $2,070 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are close to the US average (index 98, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Petersburg?
Virginia collects about $2,198 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.92% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Petersburg safe?
Violent crime is well above the national rate (2.0× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Petersburg?
Public schools in Petersburg test well below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 14 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Petersburg?
Petersburg has cool winters: winter days average around 51°F and summer days around 87°F, with roughly 4″ of snow a year.
Does Petersburg get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding: 4 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.21 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Petersburg?
The nearest major airport is RIC, about 21 mi away.
How Petersburg scores
Each bar compares Petersburg with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Petersburg
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Virginia.
Is Petersburg right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.