Virginia Beach, VA vs Lincoln, NE
Moving from Virginia Beach to Lincoln? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $304,242 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Lincoln 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 $94,035 in Lincoln, NE (−$5,965).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Lincoln, NE: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,793 sqft in Lincoln ($187 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Lincoln, NE | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $16,128 | −$6,216 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,827 | −$26 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,300 | +$220 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,440 | −$432 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,600 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $11,420 | +$1,117 |
| Total | $43,952 | $40,715 | −$3,237 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Lincoln, NE |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 3.11% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 5.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $304,242 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $179 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,344 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 6.97% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 5.20% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 1.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 2.27% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 19 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 14 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |