Chattanooga, TN vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Chattanooga to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga, TN, you'd need about $105,817 in Virginia Beach, VA (+$5,817).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($163 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $22,344 | +$3,984 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $4,853 | +$149 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,080 | −$50 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,872 | +$264 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $10,303 | +$5,396 |
| Total | $34,908 | $43,952 | +$9,043 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |