Virginia Beach, VA vs Knoxville, TN
Moving from Virginia Beach to Knoxville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $367,158 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Knoxville 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 $94,384 in Knoxville, TN (−$5,616).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Knoxville, TN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,723 sqft in Knoxville ($187 vs $184 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Knoxville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $21,144 | −$1,200 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,715 | −$139 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,130 | +$50 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,608 | −$264 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,200 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $4,576 | −$5,727 |
| Total | $43,952 | $37,372 | −$6,580 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Knoxville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 92.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 2.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.25 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $367,158 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $184 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,762 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $121 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.2 | 50.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 4.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |