Virginia Beach, VA vs Manchester, NH
Moving from Virginia Beach to Manchester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $526,340 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Manchester 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 $108,084 in Manchester, NH (+$8,084).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Manchester, NH: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 1,710 sqft in Manchester ($187 vs $292 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Manchester, NH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $25,632 | +$3,288 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,935 | +$82 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $2,955 | −$125 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $2,940 | +$1,068 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,000 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $6,681 | −$3,621 |
| Total | $43,952 | $44,143 | +$192 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Manchester, NH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 105.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 3.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $6.01 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $526,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $292 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,136 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 1.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.80% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 27.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 120 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 81 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |