Virginia Beach, VA vs Brownsville, TX
Moving from Virginia Beach to Brownsville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $207,150 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Brownsville 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 $87,697 in Brownsville, TX (−$12,303).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Brownsville, TX: 78 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 5,071 sqft in Brownsville ($187 vs $99 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Brownsville, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $17,520 | −$4,824 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,647 | −$206 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,675 | +$595 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,836 | −$36 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,600 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $4,718 | −$5,584 |
| Total | $43,952 | $35,996 | −$7,956 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Brownsville, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 85.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $4.88 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $207,150 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $99 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,460 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 1.69% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |