Virginia Beach, VA vs Urban Honolulu, HI
Moving from Virginia Beach to Urban Honolulu? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $851,163 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Urban Honolulu 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 $114,021 in Urban Honolulu, HI (+$14,021).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Urban Honolulu, HI: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 881 sqft in Urban Honolulu ($187 vs $567 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Urban Honolulu, HI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $35,760 | +$13,416 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,517 | +$664 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,900 | +$820 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $5,040 | +$3,168 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,100 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $14,943 | +$4,641 |
| Total | $43,952 | $66,260 | +$22,309 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Urban Honolulu, HI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 111.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.79% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 2.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 31 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $6.34 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $851,163 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 8.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $567 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $2,980 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 14.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 4.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 11.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.28% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $5,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $550 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 46.6 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.70 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 66 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |