Cost of living comparison
compared to
Virginia vs. New Orleans Cost of Living Summary
Virginia is 16.4% more expensive than New Orleans.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.8% less in Virginia
- Groceries
-
pay 3.2% more in Virginia
- Transportation
-
pay 19.1% more in Virginia
- Housing
-
pay 1.7% less in Virginia
- Childcare
-
pay 97.0% more in Virginia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.1% less in Virginia
- Clothing
-
pay 6.4% more in Virginia
The cost of childcare, transportation, clothing, and groceries in Virginia are more expensive than in New Orleans. Expenses including restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Virginia. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Virginia.
Virginia vs. New Orleans Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Virginia instead of New Orleans, you would:
pay 8.8% less for restaurants
|
New Orleans
|
Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.00
|
$19.95
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.32
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$2.59
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.10
|
$2.23
|
|
New Orleans vs. Virginia - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.2% more for groceries
|
New Orleans
|
Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.10
|
$3.66
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.67
|
$7.57
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.27
|
$3.86
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.54
|
$4.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.97
|
$6.27
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.78
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$2.60
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.46
|
$2.90
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$1.63
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.56
|
|
New Orleans vs. Virginia - Cost of groceries
pay 19.1% more for transportation
|
New Orleans
|
Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.98
|
$3.14
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.00
|
$81.69
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,884.90
|
$33,360.29
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$15.32
|
|
New Orleans vs. Virginia - Cost of transportation
pay 1.7% less for housing
|
New Orleans
|
Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.46
|
$66.63
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,825.00
|
$1,767.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,166.67
|
$1,444.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$174.91
|
$139.02
|
|
New Orleans vs. Virginia - Cost of housing
pay 97.0% more for childcare
|
New Orleans
|
Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,563.89
|
$1,687.43
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,230.00
|
$29,254.08
|
|
New Orleans vs. Virginia - Cost of childcare
pay 0.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
New Orleans
|
Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.97
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.61
|
$5.35
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.75
|
$8.83
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.00
|
$56.35
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.00
|
$14.65
|
|
New Orleans vs. Virginia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.4% more for clothing
|
New Orleans
|
Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.00
|
$52.65
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.00
|
$42.78
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$71.00
|
$91.01
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.50
|
$114.93
|
|
New Orleans vs. Virginia - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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