Moving to Virginia from Colorado
What to Expect
Considering a move from Colorado to Virginia? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Colorado to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 1.6% cheaper than Colorado. A $75,000 salary in Colorado would need to be roughly $73,800 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle. Denver and Virginia Beach are about 1,600 mi apart.
Is Virginia cheaper than Colorado?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 2.2% more
Groceries
pay 10.1% more
Transportation
pay 1.0% less
Housing
pay 13.0% less
Childcare
pay 29.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.8% less
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 → $73,800
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 4% more than cities in Colorado.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Virginia compared to Colorado.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Virginia performs significantly better than Colorado 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
Colorado 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
Virginia performs significantly better than Colorado across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Colorado 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
Colorado generally does better on employment & economy, though Virginia leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Colorado performs better than Virginia 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 Colorado
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Denver | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Denver | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than Colorado?
Virginia and Colorado are within a few percent on overall cost, though specific items in specific cities can swing either way.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
Budget about $18,450 for 3 months in Virginia (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Virginia safe?
Virginia performs significantly better than Colorado across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Colorado?
Colorado generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Colorado?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 65°F in Denver. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Denver gets 14.3 in.
