What salary do you need to live in Harrisonburg, VA?

Harrisonburg housing costs at a glance

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Harrisonburg, VA metro at $906 for a one-bedroom, $1,098 for a two-bedroom and $1,346 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $192 a month, and the third bedroom another $248.

On the ownership side, the typical owner-occupied home is valued at $309,300. With median household income at $75,065, a typical home costs 4.1× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 94.9, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 5.1% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $105,383 would at average US prices.

The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Harrisonburg

For two bedrooms, $144,000 is where Harrisonburg turns Comfortable. Below that, $72,000 marks the start of Okay and $36,000 the start of Tight; under $36,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 9% of gross pay.

Reaching Royal takes $384,000 — 2.7× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

How they were found: the same scoring function the calculator runs was evaluated at rising incomes until each cutoff was crossed, and the crossing rounded up to a whole $1,000.

Harrisonburg at four common salaries

Take a $75,000 salary. In a one-bedroom the rent share is 14% and the score 49, Okay; in a three-bedroom the share rises to 22% and the score falls to 43, Tight.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $150,000 row. One row up, $100,000 scores 55.

Harrisonburg compared with every US metro

On price level Harrisonburg is 169th of 387 (1 = most expensive); on two-bedroom rent it is 218th, and on median home value 141st. The two rankings agree, both falling near the middle.

Next to Harrisonburg on the national rent ranking: Elmira, NY ($1,098) and College Station-Bryan, TX ($1,097).

Harrisonburg vs. the rest of Virginia

Compared with Virginia as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Harrisonburg is 26% lower ($1,098 vs. $1,481) and the median home is 19% lower ($309,300 vs. $383,700).

Run Virginia's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $216,000; Harrisonburg's line is −33% from that.

If Harrisonburg is on your list, Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Roanoke, VA, and Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA are the most similar Virginia metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

The median Harrisonburg household

The median household in the metro earns $75,065 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 47, Okay. Put differently, Harrisonburg's typical household is $68,935 below the $144,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. Statewide, the Virginia median household ($93,170) grades Tight on the state's own medians. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.