Virginia Beach vs Richmond leftover
You'd keep $104 more a month in Richmond
$2,331/mo leftover in Richmond vs $2,227 in Virginia Beach after tax and rent ($104 more). +$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.
Virginia Beach leftover
$2,227
a month after tax and rent
Richmond leftover
$2,331
+$104 vs Virginia Beach
Compare Virginia Beach to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Virginia Beach.
Monthly gap
Virginia Beach → Richmond
$104
more / month in Richmond
$2,331 in Richmond · $2,227 in Virginia Beach · 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, 2,101 households moved Virginia Beach → Richmond (avg AGI $60,784). 1,426 went the other way. The whole move →
+$104 / mo
| Per month | Virginia Beach | Richmond | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,542 | $7,549 | +$8 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,909 | $1,911 | +$3 |
| Take-home pay | $5,633 | $5,638 | +$5 |
| Rent | $1,454 | $1,362 | −$92 |
| Getting around | $547 | $553 | +$6 |
| Groceries | $388 | $384 | −$4 |
| Healthcare | $436 | $432 | −$4 |
| Utilities | $242 | $240 | −$2 |
| Everything else | $339 | $336 | −$3 |
| Left over | $2,227 | $2,331 | +$104 |
To break even in Richmond, you'd need to earn
$88,500
Household gross, versus $90,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Virginia Beach does now.
The tax difference alone
−$5
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.3% in Virginia Beach, 25.3% in Richmond.
More about Richmond
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.
Richmond, VA in full
DC's cheaper cousin, two hours from both mountains and ocean.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Richmond on Richmond wages.
Richmond → Virginia Beach →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Richmond than Virginia Beach?
A one-bedroom is about $1,454 in Virginia Beach versus $1,362 in Richmond. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $104 a month higher in Richmond. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Richmond have state income tax?
Richmond is in Virginia, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Virginia Beach to Richmond?
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 Virginia Beach and Richmond 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.