Fayetteville, AR vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Fayetteville to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($368,497 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Fayetteville 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 Fayetteville, AR, you'd need about $106,858 in Virginia Beach, VA (+$6,858).
Livability — Fayetteville, AR: 66 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($184 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fayetteville, AR | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,128 | $22,344 | +$3,216 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,853 | +$198 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,080 | −$325 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,872 | +$348 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,500 | −$1,300 |
| Taxes | $8,682 | $10,303 | +$1,621 |
| Total | $40,193 | $43,952 | +$3,758 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fayetteville, AR | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.5 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.55% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $368,497 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,594 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.60% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |