Santa Cruz, CA vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Santa Cruz to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,157,157 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz, CA, you'd need about $86,653 in Virginia Beach, VA (−$13,347).
Livability — Santa Cruz, CA: 38 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 648 sqft in Santa Cruz vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($771 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Santa Cruz, CA | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,188 | $22,344 | −$20,844 |
| 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 | $22,398 | $10,303 | −$12,095 |
| Total | $81,262 | $43,952 | −$37,310 |
Side by side
| Metric | Santa Cruz, CA | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.8 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.94% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.7% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.42 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $1,157,157 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 11.1× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $771 | $187 |
| Median rent | $3,599 | $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 | 0.63% | 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) | 27 | 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |