Richmond, VA vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Richmond to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($397,705 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Richmond vs Baltimore 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 Richmond, VA, you'd need about $104,929 in Baltimore, MD (+$4,929).
Livability — Richmond, VA: 66 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,514 sqft in Richmond vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($199 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Richmond, VA | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,156 | $23,028 | +$1,872 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,075 | +$222 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,685 | +$605 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $2,388 | +$516 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,400 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $10,041 | $11,584 | +$1,544 |
| Total | $42,502 | $47,160 | +$4,658 |
Side by side
| Metric | Richmond, VA | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.78% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $397,705 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $199 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,763 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.76% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |