Virginia Beach, VA vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Virginia Beach to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Chicago 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 $104,875 in Chicago, IL (+$4,875).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($187 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $27,192 | +$4,848 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,215 | +$362 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,550 | +$470 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $2,208 | +$336 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,900 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $14,141 | +$3,839 |
| Total | $43,952 | $54,206 | +$10,255 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 15 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |