Cost of Living

Cost of Living

The cost of living in Virginia Beach is ​well below that of other metropolitan areas in the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. This cost of living index calculator​ can help you figure out the cost of living based on your current salary and location.

Virginia Beach ranked No. 30 for Best Places to Live, U.S. News & World Report, 2023
9th Best Boardwalk in America, The Travel, 2022
9th South's Best Family Getaways, Southern Living, 2022
Virginia Beach Ranks as the Second Best City for Work-Life Balance, SmartAsset (2021)

According to the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC), the index below measures relative price difference among major metropolitan areas and does not represent a measure of inflation. This data is produced quarterly.

Virginia Beach MSA

COST OF LIVING INDEXNATIONAL AVERAGE = 100
Composite index101.0
Grocery items99.7
Housing92.8
Utilities111.3
Transportation95.4
Health care95.0
Miscellaneous goods and services107.9

Source: CREC, Cost of Living Index, second quarter of 2023


Cost of Living Comparison

COMPOSITE INDEXNATIONAL AVERAGE = 100
Virginia Beach, MSA101.0
Anne Arundel County, MD*

(Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD Metro)

99.6
Arapahoe County, CO*
(Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metro)		110.2
Atlanta, GA97.3
Bristol County, MA*

(Providence-Warwick RI-MA Metro)

110.8
Charleston, SC97.3
Charlotte, NC96.0
Jacksonville, FL93.2
Johnson County, KS*

(Kansas City MO-KS Metro)

93.6
Las Vegas, NV*95.9
Long Beach, CA*148.8
Miami, FL117.9
Ramsey County, MN*

(Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI Metro)

93.2
Savannah, GA91.4
Washington County, OR*

(Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA Metro)

130.9
Williamson County, TX*

(Austin-Round Rock TX Metro)

93.0

Source: CREC, Cost of Living Index, second quarter of 2023; *benchmark cities/areas with similar size to Virginia Beach/MSA


This is a list of alternate major metro areas to which Virginia Beach MSA compares more favorably.