Salem, OR vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Salem to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $95,377 in Virginia Beach, VA (−$4,623).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($268 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $22,344 | +$2,808 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,853 | −$386 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,080 | −$600 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,872 | +$168 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,500 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $10,303 | −$2,832 |
| Total | $44,194 | $43,952 | −$242 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 49.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 6.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |