Merced, CA vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Merced to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($419,171 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Merced 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 Merced, CA, you'd need about $98,097 in Virginia Beach, VA (−$1,903).
Livability — Merced, CA: 57 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,790 sqft in Merced vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($279 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Merced, CA | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $22,344 | −$1,356 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,853 | −$394 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,080 | −$2,045 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,872 | −$1,932 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $18,715 | $10,303 | −$8,412 |
| Total | $58,091 | $43,952 | −$14,139 |
Side by side
| Metric | Merced, CA | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 10.70% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $419,171 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $279 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.68% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $138 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 13.5 | 49.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 6.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 75% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |