Virginia Beach, VA vs Charleston, SC
Moving from Virginia Beach to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $435,877 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Charleston 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 $103,455 in Charleston, SC (+$3,455).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Charleston, SC: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,295 sqft in Charleston ($187 vs $218 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Charleston, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $24,288 | +$1,944 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,797 | −$56 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,465 | +$385 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,848 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $10,552 | +$250 |
| Total | $43,952 | $46,950 | +$2,999 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Charleston, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 101.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.07% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 8.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.75 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $435,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $218 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,024 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.05 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $97 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 36 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.2 | 51.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |