Moving to Virginia from Georgia
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Georgia to Virginia — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Georgia to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 15.8% more expensive than Georgia. A $75,000 salary in Georgia would need to be roughly $85,271 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
What to expect for your wallet after moving from Georgia to Virginia.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $85,271
To maintain the same standard of living in Virginia
Calculate with your salary →Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 11.9% more
Groceries
pay 23.1% more
Transportation
pay 5.7% more
Housing
pay 1.9% more
Childcare
pay 51.1% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.3% 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.
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 12% more than cities in Georgia.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Georgia to Virginia.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Virginia performs significantly better than Georgia 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
Virginia performs significantly better than Georgia across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Georgia 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
Virginia performs significantly better than Georgia 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 generally does better on employment & economy, though Georgia leads in unemployment rate.
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 Georgia across all family life metrics.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Atlanta | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 58°/39°F (14°/4°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/60°F (26°/16°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/69°F (30°/20°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 64°/45°F (17°/7°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Atlanta | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52°/34°F (11.3°/1.3°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 57°/38°F (13.7°/3.2°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 65°/44°F (18.1°/6.7°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 72°/51°F (22.5°/10.8°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 80°/60°F (26.6°/15.7°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 86°/68°F (30.2°/20.1°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 89°/71°F (31.7°/21.8°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 88°/71°F (31.2°/21.5°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 82°/65°F (27.9°/18.2°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 73°/54°F (22.6°/12.2°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.9°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 54°/36°F (12.2°/2.5°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than Georgia?
No — Virginia is on average about 14% more expensive than Georgia. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $21,318 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 Georgia across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Georgia?
Virginia performs significantly better than Georgia across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Georgia?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 72°F in Atlanta. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Atlanta gets 49.7 in.
