Virginia Beach, VA vs Trenton, NJ
Moving from Virginia Beach to Trenton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $446,377 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Trenton 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 $104,805 in Trenton, NJ (+$4,805).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Trenton, NJ: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,129 sqft in Trenton ($187 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Trenton, NJ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $31,476 | +$9,132 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,888 | +$35 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,710 | +$630 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $2,544 | +$672 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $21,636 | +$11,334 |
| Total | $43,952 | $65,554 | +$21,602 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Trenton, NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $446,377 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -0.1% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,623 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 6.60% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 2.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 23.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 23 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |