Virginia Beach, VA vs Atlantic City, NJ
Moving from Virginia Beach to Atlantic City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $384,211 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Atlantic City 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 $101,211 in Atlantic City, NJ (+$1,211).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Atlantic City, NJ: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,473 sqft in Atlantic City ($187 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Atlantic City, NJ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $25,812 | +$3,468 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,888 | +$35 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,710 | +$630 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $2,544 | +$672 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $19,743 | +$9,441 |
| Total | $43,952 | $57,997 | +$14,045 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Atlantic City, NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 98.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 8.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 35 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.63 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $384,211 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 3.9% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $202 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,151 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 6.60% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 2.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 23.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 23 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |