Moving to Virginia from Idaho
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Idaho to Virginia — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Idaho to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 21.5% more expensive than Idaho. A $75,000 salary in Idaho would need to be roughly $91,100 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Idaho to Virginia.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $91,100
To maintain the same standard of living in Virginia
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 22.4% more
Groceries
pay 26.6% more
Transportation
pay 12.7% more
Housing
pay 20.4% more
Childcare
pay 58.7% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.1% 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 21% more than cities in Idaho.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Idaho and Virginia stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho performs better than Virginia 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
Idaho 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
Idaho generally does better on what about housing?, though Virginia leads in median home value.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Idaho 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 Idaho 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
Idaho generally does better on family life, though Virginia leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boise | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/47°F (22°/8°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/57°F (30°/14°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boise | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38°/25°F (3.2°/-4.1°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 45°/28°F (7.1°/-2.1°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 55°/34°F (12.6°/1.3°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 62°/39°F (16.8°/4.1°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 72°/47°F (22.0°/8.1°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 81°/54°F (27.4°/12.1°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 91°/60°F (32.9°/15.8°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 90°/60°F (32.1°/15.3°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 79°/51°F (26.0°/10.6°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 65°/41°F (18.2°/4.9°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 48°/32°F (9.0°/-0.1°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 38°/24°F (3.1°/-4.4°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than Idaho?
Day-to-day costs in Virginia run about 22% higher than Idaho on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $22,775 in Virginia for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Virginia safe?
Idaho performs better than Virginia across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Idaho?
Idaho generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Idaho?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 64°F in Boise. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Boise gets 11.7 in.
