Virginia cost of living
Prices in Virginia run at 101.1 against a national average of 100, which makes it the 16th most expensive of the 51 jurisdictions. Housing is the part that separates states: rents there sit at 106.8.
Where the difference actually is
Virginia sits at 101.1, which is as close to the national average as this series gets. That makes it a useful reference point: a salary quoted here means roughly what the same salary means nationally.
The parts move together here rather than pulling against each other: goods at 100.4, rents at 106.8, other services at 92.2. Goods are close to national almost everywhere, because most are shipped and priced nationally, so it is worth noticing when rents behave the same way.
Comparing a job here against one elsewhere on the headline salary alone will mislead by roughly 1.1 per cent. Adjusting by the parity fixes that.
The vertical line is the national average of 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
What it costs, in actual money
Parities are ratios. These are the figures behind them for Virginia, drawn from the other datasets on this site.
| Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Median home value | $360,700 |
| Median gross rent | $1,514 a month |
| Median household income | $90,974 |
| Average electricity bill | $171 a month |
| Effective property tax | 0.74% |
Metro areas in Virginia
Within a state, cities and rural areas diverge sharply. A statewide parity averages over that.
| Metro area | All items | Goods | Rents | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 108.9 | 104.8 | 151.1 | #15 |
| Charlottesville | 99.1 | 96.8 | 107.0 | #97 |
| Richmond | 97.9 | 96.8 | 99.1 | #115 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | 97.9 | 96.8 | 99.8 | #116 |
| Winchester | 96.5 | 96.7 | 90.0 | #139 |
| Harrisonburg | 94.9 | 96.8 | 82.3 | #170 |
| Roanoke | 93.6 | 96.8 | 78.5 | #192 |
| Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | 92.7 | 96.8 | 74.4 | #217 |
| Staunton-Stuarts Draft | 91.1 | 96.8 | 68.2 | #267 |
| Lynchburg | 89.4 | 96.8 | 63.9 | #303 |
| Kingsport-Bristol | 86.4 | 96.2 | 56.5 | #360 |
Virginia cost of living: common questions
Is Virginia expensive to live in?
Prices overall are 1.1% above the national average, at a parity of 101.1 where 100 is the country as a whole. It ranks #16 of 51. Goods run at 100.4, rents at 106.8 and other services at 92.2.
What is a salary in Virginia really worth?
The median wage there is $53,020. Adjusted for local prices that buys what $52,443 buys nationally. A state that pays well and costs more can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows it.
What is a regional price parity?
An official measure from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of what a dollar buys in one place against the national average, set at 100. It is built from the same price collection that underlies the consumer price index, extended to compare places rather than time periods. It is the only government measure of cost of living differences between states.
Why is housing treated separately?
Because it carries most of the difference. In Virginia rents sit 5.7 points above the state's overall parity. Goods barely vary between states, since most of them are shipped nationally; services vary more; housing varies enormously. Any cost of living comparison that does not separate housing is mostly measuring housing anyway.