Virginia Beach, VA vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Virginia Beach to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $148,817 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 $91,134 in Charleston, WV (−$8,866).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($187 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $15,180 | −$7,164 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,767 | −$86 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,410 | +$330 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,740 | −$132 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $8,230 | −$2,073 |
| Total | $43,952 | $34,627 | −$9,325 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $253 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $73 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.2 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 12.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |