Virginia Beach, VA vs South Bend, IN
Moving from Virginia Beach to South Bend? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $238,866 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs South Bend 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 $93,508 in South Bend, IN (−$6,492).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · South Bend, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 3,978 sqft in South Bend ($187 vs $126 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | South Bend, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $16,080 | −$6,264 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,734 | −$119 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,250 | +$170 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,932 | +$60 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,600 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $7,022 | −$3,280 |
| Total | $43,952 | $34,618 | −$9,334 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | South Bend, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.85% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $238,866 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $126 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,340 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 20 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |