Buffalo, NY vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Buffalo to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($288,316 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Buffalo vs Virginia Beach at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Buffalo, NY, you'd need about $102,951 in Virginia Beach, VA (+$2,951).
Livability — Buffalo, NY: 61 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,775 sqft in Buffalo vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($180 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Buffalo, NY | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,328 | $22,344 | +$5,016 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $4,853 | −$15 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,080 | −$815 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,872 | −$1,308 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,500 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $18,192 | $10,303 | −$7,889 |
| Total | $49,063 | $43,952 | −$5,112 |
Side by side
| Metric | Buffalo, NY | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.9 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.10% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.4% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $288,316 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.8% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $180 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,444 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 2.26% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.7 | 49.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 95.4 | 6.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |