Virginia Beach, VA vs Raleigh, NC
Moving from Virginia Beach to Raleigh? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $438,364 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Raleigh 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 $100,648 in Raleigh, NC (+$648).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Raleigh, NC: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,281 sqft in Raleigh ($187 vs $219 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Raleigh, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $20,328 | −$2,016 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,840 | −$13 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,130 | +$50 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,752 | −$120 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $9,294 | −$1,008 |
| Total | $43,952 | $41,344 | −$2,608 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Raleigh, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 98.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 11.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $438,364 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $219 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,694 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.75% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |