Richmond vs Virginia Beach leftover
Moving to Virginia Beach costs you $104 a month
$2,249/mo leftover in Virginia Beach vs $2,353 in Richmond after tax and rent ($104 less). −$1,248 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Richmond leftover
$2,353
a month after tax and rent
Virginia Beach leftover
$2,249
−$104 vs Richmond
Compare Richmond to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Richmond.
Monthly gap
Richmond → Virginia Beach
$104
less / month in Richmond
$2,249 in Virginia Beach · $2,353 in Richmond · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 1,426 households moved Richmond → Virginia Beach (avg AGI $64,689). 2,101 went the other way. The whole move →
−$104 / mo
| Per month | Richmond | Virginia Beach | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,576 | −$8 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,923 | $1,921 | −$3 |
| Take-home pay | $5,660 | $5,655 | −$5 |
| Rent | $1,362 | $1,454 | +$92 |
| Getting around | $553 | $547 | −$6 |
| Groceries | $384 | $388 | +$4 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $436 | +$4 |
| Utilities | $240 | $242 | +$2 |
| Everything else | $336 | $339 | +$3 |
| Left over | $2,353 | $2,249 | −$104 |
To break even in Virginia Beach, you'd need to earn
$93,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Richmond does now.
The tax difference alone
+$5
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.4% in Richmond, 25.4% in Virginia Beach.
More about Virginia Beach
Richmond, VA in full
DC's cheaper cousin, two hours from both mountains and ocean.
Virginia Beach, VA in full
State income tax topping out at 5.75%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,731 and 219 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Virginia Beach on Virginia Beach wages.
Virginia Beach → Richmond →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Virginia Beach than Richmond?
A one-bedroom is about $1,362 in Richmond versus $1,454 in Virginia Beach. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $104 a month lower in Virginia Beach. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Virginia Beach have state income tax?
Virginia Beach is in Virginia, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Richmond to Virginia Beach?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Virginia tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Richmond and Virginia Beach moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.