State water index

Virginia water hardness

Search 37 indexed communities and 133 ZIP profiles, then compare the underlying utility, source, distance, and reporting context.

Median indexed hardness

34PPM

Soft

Indexed range 9–253 PPM

ZIP profiles: 133
Cities: 37
Matched utilities: 54
Counties: 43

Understanding Virginia

Why local comparisons matter here

Virginia crosses the Appalachian Plateau, Valley and Ridge, Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and Atlantic Coastal Plain, each with distinct water-source settings.

In this index, soft is the largest category, covering 85 of 133 profiles with hardness data. The state median is 34 PPM, but the full indexed range is 9–253 PPM.

State distribution

Hardness across indexed ZIPs

Counts describe published ZIP profiles, not a population-weighted statewide sample.

Soft · 0–60 PPM85

Moderately hard · 61–120 PPM21

Hard · 121–180 PPM19

Very hard · 181+ PPM8

Evidence coverage

What the current records support

Hardness estimate: 100%
Lead 90th percentile: 100%
Copper 90th percentile: 14%

Low-confidence hardness profiles

Nearest site more than 25 miles away

Reported source water

Utility source mix

Surface water: 45
Groundwater: 7
Groundwater influenced by surface water: 2

Highest medians

Hardest indexed cities

Lowest medians

Softest indexed cities

City directory

Explore Virginia by city

Search by city or county, then sort by name, hardness, or ZIP coverage.

37 cities · 133 ZIP profiles

Search city or county

County

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37 cities found

Page 1 of 2

Alexandria

Alexandria City County · 6 ZIPs

67PPM

Range 65.9–67.6No active flag

Appomattox

Appomattox County · 1 ZIP

27PPM

County	Median	Range	ZIP profiles
Rockbridge County	252 PPM	251–253	2
Rockingham County	187 PPM	187–187	2
Harrisonburg City County	187 PPM	187–187	1
Bristol City County	184 PPM	183.5–183.5	1
Washington County	184 PPM	183.5–183.5	1
Wise County	181 PPM	181–181	1
Augusta County	178 PPM	178–178	2
Lee County	177 PPM	176.5–176.5	1
Grayson County	172 PPM	172–172	1
Albemarle County	170 PPM	165–175	3
Charlottesville City County	161 PPM	161–161	1
Roanoke City County	127 PPM	127–127	7

Why local comparisons matter here

Hardness across indexed ZIPs

What the current records support

Utility source mix

Hardest indexed cities

Softest indexed cities

Explore Virginia by city

Alexandria

Appomattox

Bristol

Buena Vista

Charlottesville

Chesapeake

Colonial Heights

Covington

Danville

Dryden

Emporia

Fort Belvoir

Franklin

Fredericksburg

Galax

Hampton

Harrisonburg

Hopewell

Lexington

Lynchburg

Manassas

Martinsville

Newport News

Norfolk

Highest indexed county medians