Virginia Beach, VA vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Virginia Beach to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Lafayette 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 $89,594 in Lafayette, LA (−$10,406).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($187 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $16,452 | −$5,892 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,650 | −$203 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $4,475 | +$1,395 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,560 | −$312 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,500 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $8,509 | −$1,793 |
| Total | $43,952 | $39,146 | −$4,805 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $101 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 43 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |