Virginia Beach, VA vs Tucson, AZ
Moving from Virginia Beach to Tucson? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $343,580 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Tucson 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 $97,145 in Tucson, AZ (−$2,855).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Tucson, AZ: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 2,693 sqft in Tucson ($187 vs $186 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Tucson, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $17,676 | −$4,668 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,841 | −$13 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,960 | +$880 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,668 | −$204 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,800 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $7,594 | −$2,708 |
| Total | $43,952 | $37,539 | −$6,413 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Tucson, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 94.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 3.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $343,580 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $186 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,473 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.2 | 10.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 0.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |