Virginia Beach, VA vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Virginia Beach to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach vs Wichita 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 $91,505 in Wichita, KS (−$8,495).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($187 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $14,412 | −$7,932 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,824 | −$29 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,275 | +$195 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,704 | −$168 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,300 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $11,043 | +$741 |
| Total | $43,952 | $38,558 | −$5,393 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $119 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |