Virginia Beach, VA vs San Luis Obispo, CA
Moving from Virginia Beach to San Luis Obispo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $909,699 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs San Luis Obispo 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 $113,609 in San Luis Obispo, CA (+$13,609).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · San Luis Obispo, CA: 42 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 824 sqft in San Luis Obispo ($187 vs $607 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | San Luis Obispo, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $34,260 | +$11,916 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,247 | +$394 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $5,125 | +$2,045 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $3,804 | +$1,932 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $21,453 | +$11,151 |
| Total | $43,952 | $71,389 | +$27,437 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | San Luis Obispo, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 111.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.99% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $6.32 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $909,699 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 10.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $607 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,855 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |