Detroit, MI vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Detroit to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Detroit 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $99,526 in Virginia Beach, VA (−$474).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($163 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $22,344 | +$4,344 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,853 | −$43 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $3,080 | −$1,495 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,872 | −$444 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $10,303 | +$756 |
| Total | $40,634 | $43,952 | +$3,317 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $74 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.3 | 49.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 6.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 53% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |