Virginia Beach, VA vs Gainesville, FL
Moving from Virginia Beach to Gainesville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $306,605 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Gainesville 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 $99,504 in Gainesville, FL (−$496).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Gainesville, FL: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 3,018 sqft in Gainesville ($187 vs $166 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Gainesville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $20,172 | −$2,172 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,813 | −$40 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $4,800 | +$1,720 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,656 | −$216 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $4,200 | +$2,700 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $4,548 | −$5,754 |
| Total | $43,952 | $40,189 | −$3,762 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Gainesville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 97.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 23.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $306,605 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $166 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |