Virginia Beach, VA vs Salem, OR
Moving from Virginia Beach to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Salem 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 $104,847 in Salem, OR (+$4,847).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($187 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $19,536 | −$2,808 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,239 | +$386 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,680 | +$600 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,704 | −$168 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $900 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $13,135 | +$2,833 |
| Total | $43,952 | $44,194 | +$242 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.2 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |