Virginia Beach, VA vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Virginia Beach to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Seattle 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 $115,359 in Seattle, WA (+$15,359).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($187 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $26,784 | +$4,440 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,405 | +$552 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $4,075 | +$995 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,548 | −$324 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $8,826 | −$1,476 |
| Total | $43,952 | $48,138 | +$4,187 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.2 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |