Virginia Beach, VA vs Albany, NY
Moving from Virginia Beach to Albany? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $370,533 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Albany 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 Virginia Beach, VA, you'd need about $100,466 in Albany, NY (+$466).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Albany, NY: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,159 sqft in Albany ($187 vs $232 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Albany, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $20,172 | −$2,172 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,868 | +$15 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,895 | +$815 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $3,180 | +$1,308 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,600 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $18,849 | +$8,547 |
| Total | $43,952 | $52,564 | +$8,613 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Albany, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 2.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $370,533 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 5.5% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $232 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 1.95% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.2 | 40.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 48.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |