VA metros

Cost of living across major VA metropolitan areas.

What living in VA costs

Across the 4 VA metros we track, the typical cost-of-living index is 97.7 against a national metro median of 95.7 — about 2% pricier than the typical US metro. That ranks VA 30 of the 48 states we cover, counting from the cheapest.

The state is not uniform: Lynchburg, VA is the cheapest metro at 90.5, while Richmond, VA runs 98.3 — a spread of 9% between them.

A typical VA home costs $373,678, or about 4.8× median household income, and typical rent is $1,763/mo.

Taxes in VA

VA levies a state income tax on top of the federal one. Effective property tax runs about 0.8% of home value in a typical VA metro, and combined state and local sales tax is around 5.7%.

Property tax is the one that scales with housing, so it bites hardest in the pricier metros above. Per-metro figures are on each metro page.

Metro	COL index	Median home	Median rent
Virginia Beach, VA	97.7	$373,678	$1,862
Richmond, VA	98.3	$397,705	$1,763
Roanoke, VA	91.2	$301,139	$1,403
Lynchburg, VA	90.5	$291,459	$1,316

Cities & towns in VA (116)

Local property tax, home values and school scores for each place.

Virginia Beach →Chesapeake →Norfolk →Arlington →Richmond →Newport News →Alexandria →Hampton →Roanoke →Portsmouth →Suffolk →Lynchburg →Dale City →Centreville →Reston →McLean →Leesburg →Tuckahoe →Ashburn →Lake Ridge →Burke →Linton Hall →Manassas →Woodbridge →Annandale →Mechanicsville →Oakton →Fair Oaks →South Riding →Petersburg →West Falls Church →Sterling →Springfield →Short Pump →Fredericksburg →Tysons →Cave Spring →Salem →Bailey's Crossroads →Herndon →Fairfax →West Springfield →Chantilly →Chester →Hopewell →Woodlawn →Brambleton →Cherry Hill →McNair →Leesylvania →Montclair →Lorton →Rose Hill →Culpeper →Buckhall →Meadowbrook →Merrifield →Lincolnia →Sudley →Midlothian →Franklin Farm →Laurel →Kingstowne →Colonial Heights →Hybla Valley →Burke Centre →Franconia →Idylwood →Bon Air →Manassas Park →Bristol →Gainesville →Bull Run →East Highland Park →Vienna →Hollins →Glen Allen →Stone Ridge →Fort Hunt →Wolf Trap →Williamsburg →Front Royal →Great Falls →Highland Springs →Groveton →Broadlands →Falls Church →Brandermill →Huntington →Newington →Mount Vernon →Kings Park West →Timberlake →Lansdowne →Sugarland Run →Newington Forest →Cascades →Poquoson →Fairfax Station →Dranesville →Lakeside →Wyndham →Manchester →New Baltimore →Wakefield →Forest →Lowes Island →Gloucester Point →Triangle →Madison Heights →Lake Barcroft →Yorkshire →Loudoun Valley Estates →Difficult Run →Warrenton →George Mason →