Cost of living comparison
compared to
Pennsylvania vs. Virginia Cost of Living Summary
Pennsylvania is 7.0% cheaper than Virginia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.9% less in Pennsylvania
- Groceries
-
pay 6.8% less in Pennsylvania
- Transportation
-
pay 0.6% less in Pennsylvania
- Housing
-
pay 8.4% less in Pennsylvania
- Childcare
-
pay 11.2% less in Pennsylvania
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.1% less in Pennsylvania
- Clothing
-
pay 5.2% less in Pennsylvania
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania vs. Virginia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Pennsylvania instead of Virginia, you would:
pay 9.9% less for restaurants
|
Virginia
|
Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.95
|
$18.35
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.32
|
$10.53
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.39
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$1.85
|
|
Virginia vs. Pennsylvania - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.8% less for groceries
|
Virginia
|
Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.66
|
$3.50
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.57
|
$7.29
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.86
|
$4.21
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.30
|
$4.15
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.27
|
$5.39
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.78
|
$2.62
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.73
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.11
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$2.50
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.36
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.56
|
$1.59
|
|
Virginia vs. Pennsylvania - Cost of groceries
pay 0.6% less for transportation
|
Virginia
|
Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.14
|
$3.27
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$81.69
|
$65.77
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,360.29
|
$32,293.42
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.32
|
$17.76
|
|
Virginia vs. Pennsylvania - Cost of transportation
pay 8.4% less for housing
|
Virginia
|
Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.63
|
$66.32
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,767.25
|
$1,401.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,444.78
|
$1,229.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$139.02
|
$142.67
|
|
Virginia vs. Pennsylvania - Cost of housing
pay 11.2% less for childcare
|
Virginia
|
Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,687.43
|
$1,240.98
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$29,254.08
|
$30,464.89
|
|
Virginia vs. Pennsylvania - Cost of childcare
pay 7.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Virginia
|
Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.97
|
$5.29
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.35
|
$5.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.83
|
$10.28
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.35
|
$38.69
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.65
|
$14.09
|
|
Virginia vs. Pennsylvania - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.2% less for clothing
|
Virginia
|
Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.65
|
$50.59
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.78
|
$43.05
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.01
|
$83.26
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.93
|
$104.87
|
|
Virginia vs. Pennsylvania - 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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