Moving to Virginia from Arizona
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Arizona to Virginia — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Arizona to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 7.8% more expensive than Arizona. A $75,000 salary in Arizona would need to be roughly $80,800 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Richmond averages 70°F vs 87°F in Phoenix, making it significantly cooler. Phoenix and Virginia Beach are about 2,050 mi apart.
Is Virginia cheaper than Arizona?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 1.3% more
Groceries
pay 17.4% more
Transportation
pay 2.2% more
Housing
pay 0.5% less
Childcare
pay 69.1% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 14.2% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Virginia?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $80,800
To maintain the same standard of living in Virginia
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Virginia cost about 16% more than cities in Arizona.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Arizona to Virginia.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Virginia performs significantly better than Arizona across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Arizona generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arizona generally does better on what about housing?, though Virginia leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Arizona performs better than Virginia across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Virginia performs significantly better than Arizona across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Virginia performs significantly better than Arizona across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Virginia vs Arizona
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Phoenix | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 73°/49°F (23°/10°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 95°/69°F (35°/20°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 103°/80°F (40°/27°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 77°/54°F (25°/12°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Phoenix | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 69°/46°F (20.3°/7.6°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 78°/53°F (25.7°/11.9°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 86°/60°F (29.9°/15.7°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 95°/69°F (34.8°/20.6°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 104°/77°F (39.9°/25.1°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 106°/83°F (41.0°/28.1°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 104°/82°F (40.1°/27.8°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 100°/75°F (37.8°/24.1°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 89°/64°F (31.8°/18.0°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 76°/52°F (24.7°/11.1°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 67°/45°F (19.6°/7.1°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than Arizona?
No — Virginia is on average about 8% more expensive than Arizona. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $20,200 in Virginia on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Virginia safe?
Virginia performs significantly better than Arizona across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Arizona?
Arizona generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Arizona?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 87°F in Phoenix. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Phoenix gets 8.2 in.
